


An Unexpected Return

by Dragon_Writer1496



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Captured, Death, Family, Friendship, Torture, Yami Yuugi whump, Yami Yuugi | Atem Has His Own Body, brought back to life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:54:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 23,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27665717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dragon_Writer1496/pseuds/Dragon_Writer1496
Summary: Seven years have passed since Yugi and Yami's duel, and while life has been going well for Yugi, he still misses his friend. However, one day, Yugi wakes up with an odd feeling, and comes to find that the connection to the Ancient King is once again back, only different, for the Yami has been brought back in his own body for unknown purposes. Can Yugi manage to save his friend before it's too late?I know, it's cheesy, but it's the best I could come up with. I had this idea several years back and wanted to share it.I hope you all like it.Also, not an expert in Egypt History, so if anything is wrong, I apologize. I just loved the original series and thought this would be a cool continuation.
Relationships: Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kujaku Mai | Mai Valentine, Mazaki Anzu | Tea Gardner/Mutou Yuugi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

The thunder rolled in the distance, creating a rumble in the man’s chest as he looked out toward the horizon. The sun had set long ago, leaving him and his men in the dark and the heavy wind of the desert. From the top of the cliff he could see nothing but the rolling sand of the Egyptian landscape, for with the oncoming storm, not even a hawk could be seen.

“Mr. Keaton!” Called one of the men, his heavy Middle Eastern accent putting more emphasis on the first of his last name.

“What?” called Liam Keaton, annoyed at being distracting from his pondering. He turned so he could see the man whom he had hired to take him to this location. It had taken more money than Liam had wanted to spend. However, he had managed to skate by with most of his money intact by promising the smuggler that he could have anything he wanted in the tomb as soon as he was done.

“We’re going to want to get inside before the storm hits us,” he said, “The desert here may not get much rain, but that doesn’t make it any less unforgiving!”

Taking one more look out to the clouds that were illuminated by the setting sun, he nodded and followed the man down toward where the others had gathered. Liam had brought eight men of his own, trained mercenaries from England and other parts of Europe. His smuggler friend whose name was too odd for Liam to even bother learning let alone remembering had ten men of his own, all of which hailing from Egypt or Pakistan and the sorts.

“You sure you have the right place?” Liam called against a strong wind that suddenly blew, throwing sand about the vehicles and small set up they had made.

The man smiled.

“Oh yes sir!” he answered; ducking under the rickety tent they had set up between two jeeps. There was a table with a map and a lantern on it, and the man pointed to a small mountain range. “I am quite positive that this is the tomb you are looking for.”

“I need you to be sure!” Liam snapped, several of the Middle Eastern men stirred but relaxed when their leader raised a hand.

“I am sure,” he said, his dark skin wrinkling as he smiled. “This is one of our most famous Kings, though there are very few people who know about him. Usually, it is only those who are born into this country that know the stories of this great and powerful Pharaoh. Tell me English man, how exactly do you know of him?”

Liam exchanged a look with a few of his men, who all shrugged, seeing no harm in sharing the information now that they were so close. He looked back at his guide and smiled just slightly before reaching into his bag and pulling out the item that had led him here, placing it on the table. He watched the man’s eyes lighten despite the nearly black color as he stared at the artifact. He brushed his finger over the gold eye that sat on the middle of the finely woven gold chain before looking back up at the man.

“These items have been lost of centuries, where did you find this one?” he asked in almost a whisper and Liam looked down once more to the Millennium Necklace, the gold seeming to shimmer in the shaking light form the lantern.

“I got lucky,” he muttered, placing it back into his bag. “Now! Can you get me inside the tomb or not?”

Seeming to find his wits, his guide straightened up and nodded.

“That shouldn’t be a problem at all. There’s a passageway that was used by the old tomb keepers long ago that should give us easy access, and with the map that Asim got for us, it should be easy to avoid any traps left. That is, saying they still work after five millennia.”

Liam nodded and signaled his men, who eagerly left the tent, following a man of about the age of twenty out into the wind. Liam hurried around the table, grabbing his guide’s arm and looking him square in the face.

“Now, remember, you have full reign over anything that’s in there, save the sarcophagus, and only after I have completed what I am here to do.”

“And what exactly is that sir?” he asked, holding Liam’s gaze without any fear or hesitation. The mans lack of respect irritated Liam more than he wanted to admit, and he made him all the more eager for what was to come. Soon, this man’s attitude wouldn’t even be a thought, let alone a problem.

Liam smiled and then released his arm, moving to join his men.

“You’ll just have to wait and see,” he answered, letting out a laugh that seemed to shake the camp as the wind suddenly ripped through.

* * * *

Yugi woke suddenly, sitting straight up in bed. He looked around; unsure of what it was that had woken him but found nothing save the dark of his room. He wiped a hand down his face, surprised by the amount of perspiration there before turning and looking at the clock.

“5:08,” he groaned, before turning and looking beside him. Tea still laid fast asleep next him, her brown hair a mess against the pillows, but a small smile played about her lips. Yugi couldn’t help but smile as he brushed a finger against her cheek and laid his head back on the pillow, wishing more than anything that he had the same mental bond with Tea that he’d had with Yami so he could know what she was dreaming.

As the memory of his friend ran through his mind, Yugi’s smile vanished and he sighed heavily before sliding out from under the blankets, pulling his boxers and black sweatpants on before leaving the room to go and make some coffee.

It had been nearly seven years since that day, and it still ran through his mind as though it had only been seven days. It did so now as he went through the motions of making the coffee, remembering Yami disappearing as he watched the black liquid fill the pot. The fact that he was gone wasn’t necessarily what made Yugi so sad, for he had known and still knew that it had been Yami’s time to go.

He sat down at the small kitchen table that took up half the kitchen in his and Tea’s small apartment, sitting in the dark of the room with nothing but the small lava lamp that Tea insisted on keeping on the counter to light the room. Its bright green blobs moved up and down in no pattern but brought a calm to Yugi’s tired mind and alleviated some of the melancholy that was filling his heart. He leaned back against the wall, his eyes staying locked on the odd shapes as he let out another breath.

“There you are,” came a soft voice and Yugi turned with a smile on his face to see Tea standing in the small doorway that led to the room.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you up?” he asked as she came over.

Tea shook her head and sat down in his lap, grabbing the cup from the table and taking a sip.

“No,” she answered with a little more volume before turning and looking over his face, her blue eyes seeming to shine in the dark room. She was wearing only his white button up shirt that had been ripped off in the heat of the night before. He rubbed a hand up and down her back, waiting for whatever she going to say, but then she surprised him by simply kissing his forehead before snuggling into his chest.

“I miss him too,” she said and Yugi felt a lump form in his throat, which he quickly swallowed and covered with a chuckle.

“Am I that easy to read?” he asked, and her body shook with a silent chuckle of her own.

“Not really,” she said, “I actually find how stone faced you are to be quite frustrating. The only time I can ever read your mind is when you’ve been thinking about Yami… that or, you know… last night.”

Yugi laughed but said nothing.

“Did you dream about him again? Is that why you’re up so early?” she asked after a few minutes of silence.

Yugi paused, remembering his sudden alertness, and realizing that he hadn’t given much thought to what had woken him up.

“Perhaps, I don’t really remember,” he answered honestly and then sighed again.

Tea sat up and pulled on one of his blonde fringes of hair, smiling.

“Stop being so somber, it’s not a good look for you,” she muttered and then laughed, kissing him softly. “I’m gonna take a shower, I have a class at seven that I need to be ready for.”

“Yeah, I should get ready to,” he muttered.

“What do you have for today?” she asked, walking into the kitchen and flipping on the light.

“I was supposed to have nothing, but Kaiba texted yesterday and asked if I’d come in and help test out this new duel disk he has planned or something. I said I would.”

“You didn’t say anything about that yesterday,” she muttered, scowling at him and Yugi laughed.

“I was going to tell you at dinner but…” he said, his voice trailing off as he looked to the living room where there were still two plates of half eaten food with spilled wine mixed in. He looked back at her to see that the scowl had become a blush.

“Yes, I suppose we did get a little distracted,” she muttered and was about to say more when a knock sounded on the door. They both looked at it with confusion until a voice came through.

“Yugi! Tea! You guys awake yet? C’mon! Open up!”

Tea laughed, rolling her eyes and moving toward Yugi, kissing him once more.

“Go open the door before Joey breaks it please. I’ll be in the shower,” she said and ducked into the bedroom, closing the door for good measure. Yugi laughed as he opened the front door. Sure enough, Joey, in his suit and tie, stood leaning against the frame.

“What up man!” he said, walking in and kicking his shoes off before heading into the kitchen.

“By all means Joey, help yourself.” Yugi said as he took a seat at the counter and watched as Joey raided his fridge.

“Thanks man, I’m starvin’!” he muttered, turning around with a bag of turkey and the jar full of pickles.

Yugi rolled his eyes but had accepted a long time ago that Joey could, and would, eat almost anything.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, and Joey shrugged.

“I had the night shift today,” he muttered around some turkey, “You got anything to drink?”

“There should be some bottled water left in the fridge,” Yugi said, and then continued as Joey turned to get it. “So, I’m guessing you want to crash here for the day?”

“Nah, just a pit stop,” he said, turning back around, “I’m going to see Serenity for the weekend, and since the train station is closer to here than my place, I figured I’d just hang out here until my train.”

“Oh! I gotcha ya,” Yugi said, rubbing at his eyes once more.

“I was surprised to find ya awake,” Joey said before shoving a pickle into his mouth, “Is Tea up too?”

“Yeah, she’s just getting ready, has a class at seven,” Yugi said.

“And what gets Mister King of Games up so early?” Joey asked and Yugi thought about it again, shaking his head.

“I’m not really sure, I just woke up with… With a bad feeling I guess,” he muttered, and Joey frowned.

“I don’t like it when you say you’re havin’ bad feelins’ Yug… You have a crazy intuition for this stuff, so if I need to cancel my trip to help you save the world, just tell me so I can mentally prepare myself.”

Yugi laughed and waved his hand, dismissing the thought.

“No, I don’t think it’s anything like that! I’m probably just making too much of a nightmare I can’t remember, so relax.” He said, and Joey pursed his lips before resuming his eating.

The two kept a up a small conversation for a while, discussing Joey’s work and relationship with Mae, which was going pretty well considering everything they’d been through. She was joining him for the trip which Yugi thought was a good idea. Her and Serenity were good friend’s, and would it definitely be a help to her. Tea joined in when she came out of the room, all dressed and ready for her classes. 

“When do you have to meet Kaiba?” she asked as she placed some bagels in the toaster.

“Not until noon today,” Yugi replied, and she smiled at him, running around and grabbing her backpack, kissing him on the cheek.

“Maybe get some rest until then, and if that doesn’t work, maybe clean up dinner,” she said, gesturing with her eyes to the mess in the living room.

“You got it,” he said and then kissed her full on, only stopping when her bagels popped. “Now go! You don’t want to be late!”

“Right!” she said, feeling a little dazed. She grabbed the bagels, gave Joey a shove and headed out the door.

“You two are gross!” Joey said and Yugi raised an eyebrow.

“Says the man who is eating turkey with pickles and butter,” he muttered. Joey gave him a ‘so?’ look before shoving the whole messy entre into his mouth. Yugi rolled his eyes and then looked out toward city, where the sun was just starting to lighten up the sky and found himself worrying once more about the frightful morning and that his words to Joey to relax would most likely prove false. 

* * * *

“I thought you said that getting through this place would be easy!” Liam snapped, turning to look back at the large pile of rocks that had just crushed two of his men and three of his guides. Getting down to the opening had taken most the night, not entering until almost 2 a.m. while the entire way through was taking a lot longer and costing a lot more than Liam was willing to part with, it was already nearly 5 a.m. and he was not wanting to waste any more time.

“Well, you can never say that we Egyptians don’t work hard at what we do,” the guide said before coughing and waving his hand to displace the dust that was flying about, “That trap had to be nearly five millennia old and it still works…. I’m impressed.”

“And I’m running out of patience!” Liam shouted, taking the man by the collar of his shirt, “Now get me to my destination without any more causalities or I promise the next death will be yours and it won’t be very casual!”

“You English men, always in such a rush,” the man said as he pulled himself from Liam’s grasp and continued down the tunnel. “Well come on then!”

Liam and his group all followed, though this time, a few steps behind. The tomb was very impressive, though Liam would never admit that to his new friend, but he was finding the intricacy in the workmanship of the traps and the overall design of the tomb very intelligible and quite deterring. Even he, who had so much riding on what was to come of his experiment here, was tempted to turn back for fear of possibly never leaving. However, he pressed forward, hoping with all his might that the stories of this Pharaoh were true.

“Ah! Mr. Keaton, do you see it!” called his new friend and Liam quickly made his way to the front, where he found himself standing at the entrance to a great hall full of gold, and in the center, a large stone that held the sarcophagus.

“Finally!” he whispered and stepped forward.

“Watch out!” called his friend, pulling him back, just in time too, for as Liam found himself once more in the hallway, two large mallet looking contraptions swung down and slammed together right where he’d been standing. He looked to his guide, his eyes wide and the man laughed.

“Always in such a rush….” He muttered and then they all slowly made their way around the mallets and into the Chamber.

“Will there be any more traps?” called one of Liam’s men, a man by the name of Harris, who was eyeing a pile of gold coins with a look similar to that of a starving man.

“Perhaps,” came the guide’s reply, “Best not to touch anything just yet.”

“Perhaps,” Liam muttered, and began to walk toward the pedestal upon which sat the resting place of the Pharaoh. He looked over the fine craftsmanship with awe before quickly pushing it open, revealing the corpse that had long ago rotted away, still wrapped in rags.

_You will be the salvation that I am looking for_ , he thought, snapping his fingers.

“Let’s get to work, we only have until sunrise to do this! Now move!” he shouted, and the men began setting up the equipment. Liam almost laughed as he watched the bewilderment of the Middle Eastern men as they stood off to the side, watching with wide eyes and side remarks in their native tongue. Liam frankly didn’t care what they said, just as long as they let him do his work and didn’t mess with anything until he was done.

“That’s the last of it, Sir!” called Harris as he stepped away from the small table that held all the items needed for the ritual. Liam walked up, pulling the necklace from his bag before handing it to Harris in exchange for the cloak he was holding.

“What will happen if this doesn’t work sir?” Harris couldn’t help but ask. Liam turned and looked him dead in the eyes before kneeling and placing the necklace on the table next to the purple candle, oil and sage. He stood and wrapped the cloak about him and turned to Harris.

“I would start preparing your soul Mr. Harris,” Liam said, “Because if this doesn’t work… then all of us are dead.”

Harris swallowed and backed away from Liam as he knelt at the prepared alter and began his chant.

The words he spoke were foreign to all the room save him, and, he hoped, those listening on the other side. He continued the chant as he lit the candle; as the wick ignited, the cavern around them shook, causing dust and loose soil to fall around them. He then took the sage and lit it, causing the grass to smoke, and a breeze to blow through the room, making a howl through the tomb. He stood, taking the container of oil with him, his words never stopping as he moved to the body. It was ravaged with time, eaten away by the years and the bugs, nothing but a rotted and dried up corpse, but it would soon be more than that. He poured the oil over the body, letting the words flow from him as though they had a mind of their own and he was but the vessel used for them to have form. The smoke from the sage was filling the small area around the body and Liam’s alter, which he had circled back to. He set the now empty bottle down, and picked up the necklace, holding it in both hands as he moved back to the body.

“Oh great God of Egypt, the Jackal that guards the way of the dead, hear my words and offer me my prayer!” he called, placing the mummies hands over the necklace. “Great Anubis, I beseech thee with the powers of this item, and those of the people I have gathered here. Take what you must, bring to life the one who has laid dead for so long!”

“What?” The guide called, hearing the words and finally having them click. He looked around and found that the men with Mr. Keaton had lined up four pillars surrounding him and his men, pillars that were now glowing with a golden light, a light that seemed to radiate from the sarcophagus. The wind ripped through the cavern, causing the many items and artifacts to fall and crash against the stone floor. Some even set off traps, but all the people seemed to be guarded by a wall of wind that was taking the glowing light and becoming brighter and brighter.

“No! You cannot do this!” The guide called, ripping himself from his men and throwing himself against the light that was linking the four pillars, but it was as though it had become a wall as well, barring him from getting through.

Liam raised his hands above his head, letting the light fill up the circle. This was like with the rat from his flat, only ten times greater. The power he felt flowing through him was both exhilarating and exhausting. He looked down to see what he’d hoped, the body completely covered in the golden light, with slight movements on the side.

_It’s working…._ He thought and then lifted his head to the sky once more.

“Great God of the dead Anubis, take my sacrifices, take the power from this dark artifact, bring to life the one that will bring my salvation!”

With the echo of his words, a crack like thunder sounded, knocking more artifacts to the floor and separating the wind barrier that had been protecting them from the remaining traps. The screams of the men he’d hired sounded, and he turned in time to see the four pillars shatter to dust, with the light fading. He waited for the dust to settle, to see the dust remains of those he’d gathered, but was surprised to find his guide, his Middle Eastern friend, kneeling amongst the dust.

“What!” he shouted, and the man looked up, his eyes wide with horror as he made eye contact with Liam.

“He said…. He said that it was enough without me…” he whispered out in a broken voice that sounded like that of a frightened child.

Liam was so focused on the annoyance that had developed for he had hoped that his ritual would leave him without any witnesses, that when a final crack of thunder sounded, quickly followed by a scream of terror and agony, a final shock wave threw him down the three steps and to the floor, leaving him out of breath and slightly stunned. After finally gaining the air back in his lungs, he stood, realizing that everyone in the room had been knocked off their feet as well. A clutter of sounds from behind him drew his attention and he turned in time to see a figure stumble from the sarcophagus and scurrying its way against the wall behind it.

“A light, damn it! Someone bring me a light!” Liam shouted, moving forward. As he rounded the stone pedestal that held the ancient coffin, he looked inside and found it empty save for the necklace. He quickly reached in, pulling it out and placing it in his pocket.

“Here sir!” said one man with a thick German accent. He turned to see Wolfgang handing him a flashlight, which he eagerly took as he shrugged out of the cloak. Making his way with Wolfgang and a few others behind him toward the figure, he shined the light on _him_ , to which he flinched covering his eyes.

“Don’t be scared,” Liam said, his voice taking on such a sweet tone that the men behind him exchanged looks.

The figure was scrunched up, as though it was trying to dissolve into the wall but finding no available way to do so. It was covered in the same rags from before, all ratted and falling away from the body; the body that was no longer rotted, but whole. Through the gaps in the rags you could make out strong leg muscles and biceps, dark skin covering them and a head of messy hair that stuck up all over in spikes of black and red.

“Come on,” Liam said, squatting down, “It’s alright.”

The figure turned, and Liam couldn’t help but gasp as eyes that seemed almost red in their coloring stared back at him from a strong face. Fringes of blonde hair hung in the way, but it was clear that the ritual had worked, and that Liam had brought this ancient and powerful Pharaoh back form the dead.

“You crazy English man!” The guide muttered, pulling Liam from the immense joy that was rising in him. He turned to see the Middle Eastern man standing just behind him, staring at the use to be mummy with a look of disbelief that was still hindered by the horror he had just witnessed. Liam was surprised to see the man had even been able to move, let alone walk all the way over here.

“Did you really doubt me?” Liam asked, the venom returning to his voice and the guide looked at him.

“I didn’t know what you were doing so there was no way I could doubt you,” he said, moving toward the Pharaoh. With slow movements, he stepped in front of the light and then removed the long sleeve shirt he wore over his dirt covered under shirt. He then placed the button up around the old king and smiled at him when the red eyes met his. He then turned back to Mr. Keaton, a glare on his face. “I do know that you just killed six people to bring one back form the dead, and that you messed with forces you do not understand… and for that, there will be consequences.”

Liam laughed, both from annoyance of the residual joy he still felt.

“I’ll deal with whatever comes,” he said and then his eyes flicked between the guide and his newly created king, realizing that maybe he could use this man he hadn’t expected after all. But he was not needed now. “Still, I’m tired of you.”

He snapped his fingers and his men acted immediately, pulling the guide away. Liam grabbed his bag from Harris, who was next to him, and pulled out a set of manacles, and moved quickly toward the king, grabbing his wrists, causing him to shout in pain as his newly formed muscles were pulled. Liam placed the shackles on his wrists and then grabbed him by the chin, forcing him to look directly at him. The red was a strange contrast of soft, seeming at times to have a purple undertone, but also so intense as they met his that Liam could hardly believe such a color even existed, but he put aside his thoughts and smiled.

“You belong to me now Pharaoh Atem.”


	2. Chapter 2

Confusion. That was what Yami felt as he pressed his sweltering body to the cold stone. He was confused.

_What the hell just happened?_ He thought to himself, but even this thought seemed to get lost in the heat and pain of his body. 

_Body? Pain? Cold? Heat?_

These thoughts did not get lost, for they were the source of his confusion, how was he feeling pain? He hadn’t felt pain in… he wasn’t sure how long, but the fact that it was there was baffling. He blinked his eyes, but all it caused was for them to sting, and the blurriness to worsen.

Where was he? Where had Mahad gone? Yami had been talking to him right…. He couldn’t remember clearly. All he could remember was a feeling of being punched in the gut and then heat and now he was here…. But where was here?

A muffled sound entered his ringing ears and he stiffened slightly, turning to see only to turn away as a light brighter than the one he’d entered upon death flashed through his eyes.

He had been dead. Yes. He had been. That’s why he remembered Mahad, but… what had happened? 

More muffled sound followed by thudding. It was too consistent to be random and eventually it clicked in Yami’s mind that it was feet- Footsteps coming toward him. He opened his eyes and looked toward the light, resisting the urge to look away, for perhaps if he could see the source of the light, he could understand what had happened.

All that came were more shapes, and more muffled sounds. Groups of people were standing some ways away, but he couldn’t make any clear distinction amongst the shadows. A shape moved, standing taller than the others, and then the light moved, giving way to a man squatting down. His features were clean and white, his hair only slightly muffled. It was as Yami was staring at this face that the brightness suddenly left, and he looked up to see that the standing man had stepped forward and in the way of the light. He was different from the first, for his skin was dark like Yami’s, his eyes as deep as the night sky, and a smile that hinted at something, though Yami didn’t know what. He watched the man shrug out of his shirt, leaving his dark, strong arms bare to the fluorescent light behind him. He placed the shirt around Yami, who flinched slightly as the contact of the fabric rubbed his burning skin. The man smiled and looked behind him, and then, due to how close the man was, Yami heard him speak.

“I do know that you just killed six people to bring one back form the dead, and that you messed with forces I know you do not understand… and for that, there will be consequences.”

The sound hurt Yami’s head, echoing about it with a raw intensity, making the pain in his head even worse. A muffled laugh sounded from the light and before Yami could think, or really even look back toward the group, the man with the kind smile and loud voice was gone.

Suddenly his arm was yanked and Yami couldn’t help the scream of pain that left his lips as the muscles protested against being moved. Something cold and heavy found its way onto his wrists and he looked just long enough to see the shackles that were placed there before being forced to look back up into the fair skinned man’s face. His eyes were blue but held more darkness than that of the dark eyed man. They reminded him of Bakura and made him want to run. The man held onto Yami’s chin, keeping eye contact, and smiled.

“You belong to me now Pharaoh Atem.” He said and Yami’s breathing hiccupped.

_He knows me_ , Yami thought, feeling the horror pass over him as the name he’d forgotten long ago was used. It was a name that Yami still didn’t use, for it didn’t feel like him anymore. It was a name that had been lost to history for reasons that Yami himself wasn’t entirely sure of, so how then, did this man know it? How did he know who Yami was, and more importantly, what did he want?

The man laughed and finally released Yami’s face, only to walk away and start shouting orders to the other men. Yami then looked up into the face of another fair skinned man, who was standing there with a stance that Yami couldn’t quite identify. Almost…. Awkwardly? Yes, that was it.

“Harris! Get that product out of here and into the cargo van! Now!” came the shout of the man from before. Yami’s ears were clearing up, giving way to more and more sounds, shouts of men and metal clanging, and the hum from giant lights they were setting up. Yami squeezed his eyes shut and held his head in hopes that it would all stop.

“Right sir!” came the shout from the awkward man, who then reached down, grabbed Yami by the upper arm and pulled him to his feet. Yami yelled, his legs refusing to hold him up, but the man didn’t stop, just kept pulling him toward an opening in the wall. Yami looked down, clinging to the man’s arm, hoping to find a footing as to avoid the scraps that were being caused on his sore feet, and found himself distracted by the rags that covered his body, and not very well. They hung in tatters, all stained and darkened, continuing to fall as they moved. It didn’t help that the shirt the man had given him had also fallen off when the awkward man had pulled him to his feet. Yami then looked up and around. The blurriness to his vision was still there, but when he focused he could see better, and what he found was that they were in a large cavern; gold artifacts and jewels, along with bits of broken wood and metal were strewn about the place and Yami felt as though he was going to pass out. It probably would have been better for him if he had.

“Harris!”

They stopped a few yards from the door so that the man could turn and talk to the first, who came up, eyeing Yami with a look he didn’t want to understand.

“Make sure you lock the van,” he said, “He may be out of it, but I don’t want to risk him running off.”

“Yes Sir!” The man said and then began dragging Yami once more.

Yami eventually found somewhat of a footing, but it was hard to keep because he was much slower than Harris, who seemed to be running back towards the top, and Yami sure didn’t help when it came to getting around fallen debris. He fell more times than he wanted to admit, earning him a smack to the head from Harris on one account. However, they did eventually make it to the top, and Yami was relieved to find sand beneath his feet instead of stone.

“Where’s that van?” Harris muttered to himself and Yami took the chance of being still to look around. There wasn’t much else but sand and a few jeeps to see. The sky was dark and heavy with clouds that rolled by with the sound of thunder in them. It was going to storm, if it hadn’t already.

“There it is!” Harris shouted, causing Yami to wince at the sudden sound, and began dragging him toward a larger vehicle. He let him fall to the sand, where despite Yami’s wish to be anywhere else, he stayed, his body unwilling to move another inch, as the man pulled out a key and unlocked the back doors, letting them swing open to reveal a cabin of about five feet by five feet, with a few boxes in it. Along-side them sat the man from before, who had given Yami his shirt, who was staring out at them with a smirk.

“Well…” Harris muttered, pursing his lips, clearly, he did not know that this man would be here. “I’m just doing what I was told. Here!”

Grabbing Yami’s arm and forcing him in, where Yami once more lost his footing amongst the loose sand in the cabin and the pain/weakness of his own muscles. He fell forward, landing against the floor of the cabin with a bang and a shout of pain that turned into a groan.

“Try not to have too much fun,” Harris said to the man before slamming the doors. The man didn’t move until he heard them lock and then fumbling his way past Yami and into the boxes.

“It’s a good thing they had my men pack this car, because we put some good essentials in here,” he muttered as he rumedged through the box. Yami frankly didn’t care what was in there, he was just happy to finally be still. He lay on the floor of cabin, breathing heavily as the man worked to find whatever it was he was looking for.

“Here we are!” the man said, and suddenly a light filled the cabin, though thankfully one that was not as harsh as the light from before. Yami looked up to see that he had lit a candle which he now was letting wax drip in the corner, away from the box before setting it in it, where it stayed propped up, giving them light to see.

“Crazy English men,” he muttered, drawing Yami’s attention once more. He had pulled something else from a different box and shook it out. It was a blanket, which the man then placed over Yami’s body. The man looked at him with such sadness that is almost made Yami worry about what state he was in. Almost. The pain was too much for him to really care in that moment. 

“Stupid English men,” the man suddenly said, leaning back against the wall of the cabin. “He has no idea what he just got himself into. Then again… neither do I.”

He then looked down at Yami.

“I wonder if you even have any idea what I’m saying. Perhaps…”

The man continued to mumble to himself about this and that, but Yami didn’t pay him much attention, he was too busy trying to figure out exactly what _had_ happened. He was alive again, but it was clearly not like before; there was no sharing a body, this time it was his own. He wasn’t sure how it was possible, but he knew that whatever this man who had brought him back needed him for, that it wouldn’t be good.

The more Yami laid there thinking, the better he was able to think. It wasn’t clearly or coherent by any means, but he could actually keep hold of a thought now. He understood that he was back, the confusion over that had left before he’d left the tomb. He also understood that for now he was lacking in physical strength and had no idea when it would come back. He also understood that this man with the ability to undo death was not someone he could handle alone.

He needed help.

“I need Yugi,” Yami whispered, feeling a pain in his chest as his friend’s name left his lips.

“What? Did you say something?” the man asked, stopping his rant about vengeance for his friends and looked at Yami with a curious expression. It was staring into those eyes of a man he didn’t know but also the only man who had shown him any kindness within the twenty or so minutes he’d been alive that Yami choose to trust him.

With more groans and yelps of pain than he was happy about, Yami pushed himself up off the floor and into a sitting position, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it about his legs. He looked to the man, briefly considering his decision and deciding once more that it was the right thing to do.

“I need your help,” he said, forcing his voice to be louder. It was raspy, sounding as though a piece of sand paper had been rubbed up and down it multiple times.

“Wait?” the man said, shaking his head and looking around before back at Yami. “You… speak English?”

“Yes, among other languages,” Yami answered hoarsely, finally realizing he’d need water and time to get his true voice back. He’d began to pull the rags that were still wrapped about his face off, but stopped and looked at the man, “I don’t know you, and you don’t know me, and I don’t know how long either of us has here together, but you have been kind, and that is a rare thing indeed. So… will you help me?”

The man ran his hand through his thick, curly black hair as he watched the resurrected King of Egypt stare at him with eyes that held something more than confusion and terror. This man was determined.

He then held out his hand to the man, who looked at it before returning his gaze, the red iris flashing in the light from the candle.

“I’m Acenath…. But you can all me Ace,” he said, and the Kings lips turned up at the corner in a small smile, grasping his hand with such feeble strength it made Ace begin to worry about him even more.

“I’m Yami,” he answered, and Ace nodded, leaning back against the cabin wall and shaking his head.

“Now, the crazy English man probably intends on killing me, so I don’t know how much help I can be, but you might as well tell me… what do you need help with exactly?” Ace asked and Yami’s smile got bigger.

“I need to find someone,” he said, looking up, “the hard part about it is that he lives in Japan.”

Ace pursed his lips and looked around him, nodding his head.

“Yep,” he replied, “That’s going to be difficult. But, it sure will be fun trying.”

Yami chuckled; glad that his new friend was an optimist.

* * * *

“Thank you again for doing this Yugi,” Mokuba said as they re-entered Kaiba’s office. The testing had gone well and only a few bugs had come up in the systems, so everything was looking good for Kaiba’s launch date.

“No worries, I’m always happy to help,” he said, sitting on in the chair opposite Kaiba’s desk while Mokuba simply choose to sit on it, “Besides, gets me out of the house.”

“Finding things to do becoming hard for you?” the kid asked, although, he wasn’t so much a kid anymore, after all, he was graduated and started college soon with a program to work with his brother to gain business experience. Seemed crazy that time had gone by so fast.

“A little,” Yugi said, answering his question a beat late and then sighing. “Do you think your brother will need me much longer though? I was supposed to stop by Grandpa’s and watch the store while he has lunch with Professor Hawkins.”

“I don’t think so,” Mokuba replied, “He’ll probably just want your personal feedback and then you’ll be good to go.”

“Great!” Yugi said and then closed his eyes, letting his head fall back against the seat. His early morning wake up was not being very nice to him, and he found that he was starting to feel a little off because of it.

“Sleeping on the job already?”

Yugi laughed by didn’t open his eyes as Kaiba’s voice came from behind him.

“Well, technically, I did this voluntarily, so I think a nap won’t hurt anyone,” he answered, finally sitting up and giving Kaiba a smirk, who returned it with a glare as he sat down.

“So, what did you think of the system?” he asked and Yugi rolled his eyes.

“Straight to the business,” he muttered and then leaned forward, “I liked it. The summoning’s are smoother with better graphics which I think will please a lot of people. The increase in life points is always nice, so that will go well with the players. As far as the system goes, just fix those few bugs we found, and you should be good, but as far as design goes I think you should add some yellow and maybe lessen the grip on the arm.”

Kaiba nodded, his face actually becoming something close to a smile as he made note of Yugi’s comments.

“We will certainly take that under advisement.” He said and then turned to him, “Thanks for coming in and helping out.”

Yugi shrugged, standing up.

“No worries, I’m happy that I-” he started and stopped as suddenly came over a bit dizzy, his vision going black, causing him to fall back into the chair.

“Yugi! You okay?” Kaiba asked and when Yugi’s vision returned he found that the two Kaiba brothers were standing over him.

“Yeah, I’m fine, sorry!” He said, placing his hand against his fore head. “I guess that I just stood up too quickly.

“Be more careful,” Kaiba said, leaning against his desk. “I’d hate to see you passing out.”

Yugi smiled at him.

“Is that concern I hear?” he asked mockingly and Kaiba frowned.

“Die,” was his only response.

Yugi laughed and stood up, more slowly this time, shook Kaiba’s hand and headed out the door. As he stood in the elevator he went over things in his head. It was a ten- or so-minute walk from Kaiba’s office to his Grandpa’s shop, so that wasn’t too much of a bother. It was more the watching his shop for an hour that worried Yugi right now. He was so tired that he was surprised he didn’t fall asleep during the testing phase.

He shook his head and rolled out his shoulders as the elevator opened and he walked out, handing in his visitors pass before leaving the building.

“It’s a rather nice day,” Yugi mused as he walked along the sidewalk, standing with the others as he waited. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and it was surprisingly warm for so late in the year. It felt more like May weather when in fact it was getting closer to October. Walking across the street he shoved his hands in his pockets and did his best to enjoy the day, but it seemed impossible.

“You’re just tired,” he muttered, but it felt too much like a lie even to him. He paused and looked around him. There were no floating duel monsters, no creepy men in capes, no bright lights, no weird sounds, it was just an ordinary day in Domino city with people going about their ordinary lives.

_So why do I feel as though something has gone horribly wrong,_ he thought as he picked up the pace to the shop.

“Yugi, good to see you!” the professor trilled as Yugi entered the shop.

“Professor!” he replied with a nod, “Good to see you too. I’m sorry, am I late?” 

“Not at all my boy,” Gramps replied with a chuckle, “Arthur here just arrived a bit earlier than expected. Did everything go okay with Kaiba?”

Yugi nodded.

“Yep, we should be seeing a new duel disk system pretty soon if Kaiba sticks to his timetable,” he replied before overcome by a huge yawn.

“Are you alright Yugi? You look pretty tuckered out.” The professor said, his eyes filling with worry.

Yugi nodded.

“Yeah, just woke up really early, that’s all.”

“Why?” his Gramps asked.

Yugi shrugged as he moved around the professor and shoed his Gramps off the stool and to his position.

“Not sure, probably just a bad dream,” he muttered.

“Perhaps we should just have lunch here Solomon, it looks like he needs some rest,” Arthur said, staring at the tired boy with concern.

“I’m fine Professor!” Yugi insisted, “Seriously, it’s the middle of the day so things will be slow. Go, have fun and bring me back a piece of pie and we’ll call it even.”

Gramps sighed.

“You sure Yugi?”

“Positive,” Yugi replied straightening up and doing his best to appear awake and happy. “Go.”

Yugi waited until the door had been closed for several minutes before relaxing onto the counter, pressing his face into the cold glass. He wasn’t sure why, but suddenly he felt as though he had come over sick.

“Something…. Something’s wrong,” he whispered, hating the sure feeling that was filling him. It was like Joey said, he had a way with these feelings, and Yugi hated it when he was right.

Still, if he was going to be right, why couldn’t he at least know everything that _was_ wrong? What was the point in having intuition if all it ever did was give you a sick feeling in your stomach that could also easily be the flu? 

Yugi sighed and pulled out his phone, scrolling through the messages until he found a name. He hadn’t talked to this person in a while, but there really hadn’t been a need either. Still, he clicked on Mariks name and began composing a text.

_Hey Marik, sorry it’s been so long, and I hope I’m not_

_bothering you, but I was wondering if you could tell me_

_if everything was still… okay over there?_

“Because that couldn’t possibly be more vague…” Yugi muttered before hitting send and resting his forehead back onto the glass. He thought back to the last time he had talked with Marik as he waited for him to respond. He, Ishizu and Odion had come for a visit about a year ago and they had all gotten together for a dinner, even Kaiba had joined them. It had been fun, talking about old times, reminiscing about duels that had almost killed them and ended the world. There were some fun arguments between Joey and Kaiba, where Marik had chimed in, leading to quite the discussion. There were few moments in his life where Yugi hadn’t thought about Yami, and though he had been on his mind, it was more in a way of being thankful. Yami had brought new friends into his life, and he was happy about it.

His phone suddenly began ringing, startling Yugi out of his memory. He glanced at the caller ID and was surprised to see it was Marik. Yeah, he had just texted, but he hadn’t expected a call in return. He quickly straightened, cleared his throat and then hit the accept button.

“Hello?” he asked, conveying his confusion.

_“Hey Yugi, sorry for calling instead of texting, but I’m helping set up for one of Ishizu’s events and need both hands,”_ Marik said, sounding out of breath, _“No! The older pottery goes in the gallery to the right!”_

“Yeah, you sound kind of busy, I’m sorry to bother you.” Yugi answered.

_“No! There’s no bother! I’ve actually been meaning to call and check in with everyone, but never had the chance.”_ Came the reply and Yugi laughed, leaning back against the wall.

“Life sometimes has a way of getting away from you. No worries, we got caught up in things too,” he muttered to which Marik laughed.

_“Yes, it does,”_ he said and then suddenly sighed heavily. _“Alright, I’m in the office, what is it I can do for you Yugi? Your text seemed like there was more to your question.”_

Yugi sighed, closing his eyes.

“I don’t know,” he muttered, “Truth be told I’m probably just making something out of nothing, but today… today I woke up really early with a bad feeling and I can’t seem to get it to go away.” 

_“What do you mean_ bad feeling _?”_ Marik asked.

“I don’t know!” Yugi said, throwing in a laugh to make it sound less serious.

_“Come on Yugi, try to think. Do you know what woke you? Was it a dream, a sound, what?”_ Marik asked. This was exactly why he had asked Marik; because no matter what was going on, even if it was nothing, Marik would take him seriously and help him figure it out. Yugi sighed once more, trying to think back. The day before had been great; he did a press interview, got to meet some fans and enjoy a good show from some of the new duelist champions. He’d picked up flowers and made dinner. Tea and him had had a wonderful evening and an even greater night. They’d fallen asleep and it had been wonderful until…

“Laughing.” Yugi said suddenly.

_“Laughing?”_ Marik replied, wanting to confirm that he’d heard him correctly. _“What about laughing?”_

“I heard laughing before I woke up,” Yugi said, “And not like happy laughing, but maniacal laughing… kind of like-”

“ _Like my evil counterpart use to do?”_ Marik asked and Yugi smiled slightly.

“I was going to say the Joker from ‘The Dark Knight’ movie, but sure,” Yugi said and then rubbed his hand against his head, “Still, I don’t know what that means! I just remember the sound, nothing else.”

_“Hmmm… it is strange, but I know that your feelings are hardly ever wrong,”_ Marik said.

“I think you mean Yami’s feelings were never wrong.”

_“No, I mean you Yugi.”_ Marik said, his voice so confident that Yugi almost believed him.

“Well, this is probably nothing-”

_“Yugi, if you honestly believed this was nothing, you wouldn’t have texted me about it. Yes, Yami had great intuition and power, and yeah, some of what you have is from him, but don’t go selling yourself short. You have power too; otherwise you wouldn’t have been chosen to be his vessel in this world. Look, I have to get back, but I’ll mention this to Ishizu and Odion and we’ll see what we can do here on our end. However, if you get anything else, please call and tell me.”_

Yugi smiled.

“Thanks, Marik, I knew it was a good idea to tell you,” he said smiling.

_“Of course, it was, I’m awesome. I’ll talk to you later okay. Bye Yugi.”_ And with that Marik hung up.

Yugi placed his phone back into his pocket and picked up the paper that his grandfather had left and began reading, hoping to distract from his thoughts of impending doom and the feelings of being sick.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! Put the wrong Chapter before, here's the right one and then the one that was here before is next!   
> Sorry!!!

The doors to the van were thrown open, causing them to bang loudly against the side, startling both Yami and Ace out of the sleep they had managed to fall into not ten minutes earlier.

“What the hell!” Ace shouted as Yami now shielded his eyes against the bright sunlight that was streaming in.

“Knees up boys!” Liam shouted and Ace thought that his face would break he was smiling so widely, “I presume you slept well?”

“Yes, the hard floor of the van and cramped spaces made for an excellent night,” Yami grumbled under his breath, to which Ace smiled slightly before turning to glare at Liam once more.

“It was great, what do you want now?” he snapped, and Liam folded his arms, allowing the two men in the cab to see the others outside, holding guns on them.

“Well you see, I need to speak to _him_ , so if you don’t mind moving,” Liam muttered, sounding causal and even polite, but as the words left this mouth, two men leaned into the cab, grabbed the chain on Yami’s shackles and pulled him from the van and into the sun. His body protested, to which he couldn’t stop the slight yelps of pain. Liam then looked back at Ace and nodded.

“Bring him too, could be useful.”

Ace shoved the men off as he got out of the van, walking to Yami and helping him to the tent that Liam was headed too.

“Nice guy,” Yami whispered.

“Not really.” Ace muttered, his eyes darting all around. “Just try to stay calm.”

Yami laughed slightly, feeling like out of the two of them, he was the calm one, but didn’t say anything. They entered the shade of the tent, at which point, Ace let Yami fall to his knees, but continued to stand protectively by his side.

“Here,” Liam said, holding out a small metal object to Ace.

“And that is?” Ace inquired.

“The key to his shackles,” Liam muttered, “The clothes there in that bag are for him. I don’t intend for him to be seen by anyone other than us, but I think normal clothes will be better than the rags he’s currently in. You can help change him back there.”

Ace sighed and grabbed the key; quickly unlocking the manacles from Yami’s wrists, before helping him to his feet and into the back with the clothes.

“What do they got?” Yami asked in a whisper as he sat down once more in the sand and began pulling at the rags on his arms. Ace pulled each item from the small black bag and held them out; a white button up shirt, some gray boxer shorts, a pair of khaki jean pants, a brown belt and that was it.

“I guess they don’t expect you to do too much walking,” Ace muttered as he knelt and glanced awkwardly at the rest of the rags.

“Do you want help?” he asked and Yami sighed before nodding his head. Slowly and carefully, Ace helped remove the rest of the rags, occasionally talking quietly to Yami in hopes of removing some of the awkwardness, and it did help, a little.

“Hand me the boxers and pants,” Yami said and Ace did so before turning around.

“Just let me know if-”

“No worries,” Yami said, pulling the boxers on, followed by the pants with the occasional groan. He grabbed the belt from the pile on the floor, drawing Ace’s attention. He turned and smiled as he watched the ancient king easily fit it through the pant loops. He would have thought that he was just any ordinary guy getting dressed if it wasn’t for how much his hands were shaking and how hard he was breathing. 

“I keep forgetting that you’ve done this before,” He muttered, handing the shirt to him.

Yami smiled as he slid his aching arms into the sleeves before buttoning it up, which proved more difficult than he thought with his fumbling fingers but managed with a bit of effort. He then began rolling up the sleeves.

“What do you think he wants?” He asked, and Ace sighed, shaking his head as he looked back the way they had come.

“I don’t know. He hired me, so I know he already has money, and he was willing to let me, and my men loot the tomb…” Ace suddenly stopped and looked down at Yami who was finishing rolling up the other sleeve, only glancing up when he was done.

“What?” Yami asked, confused by the look on Ace’s face.

“Sorry about wanting to loot your tomb.” 

Yami laughed slightly as he forced himself to his feet, using Ace’s offered hand for support.

“Hey, it’s not like I was using any it,” Yami muttered and then looked at Ace when he was up right. “You’re still going to have to help me walk back out there.”

Ace laughed and pulled Yami’s arm around his shoulders as they headed back out to the other men. Liam was sitting at a table, staring at it with a frown on his face, only glancing up when they were closer.

“Not too bad, I thought it would take you two longer than that.” He muttered as he watched his guide friend lower Atem into the chair, where he then turned and eyed him. Liam felt odd under the red gaze of the ancient king but held his composure. He wasn’t about to be intimidated by someone who could barely walk.

“We would hate to keep you waiting,” Ace scoffed as he was forced to take a seat as well, his eyes ranging over the men that stood around them.

“Indeed,” Liam muttered before returning his attention to Yami. “Aismi liam kaytuna, wa'ana bihajat limusaeadatkum min ajl aleuthur ealaa bunud al'alfiat almutabaqiyat.”

Yami blinked at the man who sat before him for a minute before suddenly laughing, startling everyone around him, even Ace gave him a strange look. But out of all the things he’d expected to leave the young English man’s mouth, he had not been expecting a different language. Quickly composing himself, Yami looked back at the man across the table and sighed.

“I appreciate your attempt of using a language you believe me to be more familiar with, however, if your attempt was true, you would have used Hebrew instead of Arabic. In any case, English will be just fine.”

Liam sat in complete disbelief as he stared at the man who sat before him. He glanced at his former guide, who was only smiling a smug smile at Liam’s look of bewilderment.

“I… I did not know you knew English,” Liam said, turning back to the Pharaoh, who shrugged his shoulders, only to wince and lower them slowly.

“You never asked,” he muttered and then looked at the table, worry creasing his forehead. “Are you trying to find a new place to go?”

Liam nodded.

“In a sense, I’m more trying to find the location of a certain item, one that is related to this one,” he muttered, placing the millennium necklace on the table, at which he got the satisfaction of watching horror play across the king’s face.

“Where did you find that?” Yami demanded, unable to hold the words back. Images from several years ago played through his mind, of the duel with Yugi, of moving on. He was certain the cave had collapsed, and the items had been lost.

“You are familiar with it then?” Liam inquired, and the red eyes looked at him with both anger and confusion mixed in.

“Familiar? My father is the one who ordered their creation. Now, where did you find that?” Yami demanded once more, at which point the man standing next to him, who had been as stoic and silent as a statue up until that point, slammed the butt of his gun into Yami’s ribs, knocking him from the chair and pressing the muzzle to his head.

“You do not speak to Mr. Keaton in that way!” the man shouted, and Yami turned to glare at him, holding his side as he did his best not to cry out. He was certain one of his ribs was now broken.

“Come now Simon,” Liam said, moving around the table and placing a hand on the man’s shoulder. “This is a former king we’re dealing with, I’m sure he’s used to people obeying his every word, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt shall we.”

_Simon_ slowly removed the gun from Yami’s head and stepped away.

“Are you alright?” Ace asked, reaching down and helping Yami back up, only to be yanked away by the man who stood behind his chair, a tall and wide looking brute with red hair and a scraggly beard to match. 

Yami nodded and looked around. Each of the men standing around were glaring at him, each one in a stance that allowed them immediate action.

“Loyal bunch you have here Mr. Keaton,” Yami muttered and the man nodded his head.

“I suppose so,” he replied and then turned to him, “they can get a little excited sometimes.”

Yami scoffed and then looked back at the millennium necklace on the table.

“From what little of your Arabic I understood, you want my help in finding items, and from what you said earlier, you want my help in locating an item similar to this,” Yami concluded. “Which of the remaining six are you looking for exactly?”

“Why the one that belonged to you of course,” Mr. Keaton exclaimed, sitting back down. “The millennium puzzle; said to contain the power of wish fulfillment. Are the legends of it true?”

“In a sense,” Yami answered slowly, trying to hide the horror he felt at Keaton’s words. “Depends on how strong your will is.”

“I brought you back from the dead, I think my will is strong enough,” Keaton stated, at which Yami scoffed slightly, wincing when it pulled at his ribs.

“The only thing your little spell showed is that you possess a unique gift for magic and communing with the other side, nothing more.” 

Keaton raised an eyebrow.

“You think bringing someone back after being dead for five thousand years is nothing?”

“Hardly,” Yami admitted, “However, simply because you can do that does not mean you can bend the laws of the present. The puzzle allows you to shape reality to your will, and that is not an easy thing to do.”

“Well,” Keaton said, leaning across the table and holding Atem’s red gaze. “Why don’t you let me worry about that.”

“If you insist.” Yami conceded, bowing his head slightly and leaning back in the chair, wincing at the pain in his ribs.

“Now, where is it?”

“Where’s what?” Yami asked.

“Don’t mess around with me,” Keaton snapped, “The puzzle wasn’t in your tomb, so where is it?”

“Of course, it’s not in my tomb you moron,” Yami spat, causing several of the men to become antsy once more, and they probably would have acted had Keaton not raised a hand, calming them. Yami continued, “Did you really think something that powerful would be left somewhere so obvious?”

Liam blinked. He hadn’t given much thought to it really; he’d just assumed that that was where it would.

“Well then where is it?” he urged.

“How in the hell would I know?” Yami demanded and Ace winced, his anxiety increasing. He’d expected Yami to be cross and not exactly polite with the man, but he hadn’t expected this much attitude and venom.

Liam, having finally composed himself from the shock and anger of the king’s statement, cleared his throat and leaned forward.

“You… you don’t know?”

“I was dead. It’s not like I was paying much attention to where my servants or family decided to put it,” Yami muttered, doing his best to convince the man as well as to not think about the cave. He wasn’t sure what making himself useless to this man was going to do, but he knew that he couldn’t let him get his hands on the puzzle either.

“Well,” Keaton muttered, leaning back in his chair and shaking his head. “I really hope you’re lying.”

“What?” Yami muttered, taken off guard.

“Because if you’re not, then this is going to be for nothing,” he muttered, and before either Yami or Ace could move, his men were in action. Ace was grabbed by the hair and hauled off and out of sight, while Yami was grabbed and thrown to the sand, where the shackles were once more placed on his wrist. Keaton grabbed the chain that linked them together and began dragging Yami across the hot sand. The sun was once more blinding, causing Yami to shut his eyes to avoid the pain.

“You see, I need that item for the next step,” Keaton said, yanking Yami to his feet and forcing his arms over his head. Yami opened his eyes and watched as the men placed the chain in a hook that had been hammered into the cliff wall to the side of their camp. It forced Yami onto his tip toes, unable to lift any higher so that he couldn’t free himself. He glared at Keaton, who was now standing a foot away, arms folding.

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know!” Yami shouted, hurting his voice, but hoping it would be worth it.

“I think you’ll change your mind.” He muttered.

As Liam stepped away Yami felt his stomach drop as Ace, whose hands were bound behind his back was brought forward from the camp and forced into the sand.

“What are you doing?” Yami demanded, turning to Liam.

Liam pursed his lips.

“You see,” he began, walking toward Ace until he was standing behind him. “You see, I need you to remember where the Puzzle is.”

“How can I remember something that I never knew?” Yami demanded, feeling the ache that his voice was causing.

“You see Atem… that’s not good enough,” he said and reached behind him, pulling out a handgun.

“Keaton!” Yami shouted, to which Liam looked up at him expectantly.

“Well?”

“Killing him isn’t going to change anything,” Yami said.

“Are you saying that he means nothing to you?” Liam asked and Yami ground his teeth together, pulling away from the wall so that he was leaning.

“No, you idiot,” Ace said, drawing everyone’s attention, “He’s saying that no matter what you do, you’re going to fail.” Ace then turned to Yami and nodded. “Don’t give them anything!”

Yami blinked in surprise. They had only known each other for a day, not even that, and yet, despite all the things that they didn’t know about each other, there was such trust in those dark eyes. Yami didn’t see Liam raise the gun to Ace’s head, but he heard the shot and saw the blood spray onto the sand. Yami screamed and turned to glare at Liam, whishing more than anything that his strength was back, and he could do something.

“What a shame,” Liam said and signaled for his men, who came and removed the body. “Let’s see if hanging out for a while will have a better effect on your memory.”

The last thing Yami saw after Liam walked off was the butt of a gun being slammed into his face, and then everything was black.

* * * *

Yugi didn’t know where the pain came from. He had decided that he was probably dehydrated and went to get a bottle of water when on his way there, he felt as though someone had taken a sledge hammer to his legs. The pain was so bad that he cried out as he fell to the floor of his grandpa’s living room, tears filling his eyes. He lay there, the pain travelled up his body, filling him to a point that there was nothing else. Then he finally passed out.

The first thing Yugi recognized upon opening his eyes was how much pain he was still in. His whole body ached, though not as bad as before. What he remembered was a feeling of fire, this was more like an echo, or like he’d just gone and run three marathons in a row followed by a weight lifting competition. He blinked, allowing him to feel just how much his head hurt due to the bright lights that were above his head. He then focused on the lights, realizing that nowhere in his grandpa’s house did he have bright fluorescent lights like that. He then looked around, having a feeling of dread fill him.

“What the hell?” he muttered, looking around at the small hospital room he was in.

“Yugi?”

He turned to the window where his Grandpa was standing with Professor Hawkins.

“Grandpa?” Yugi muttered, pushing his aching body into a sitting position, “What happened? Why am I in a hospital?”

Solomon hugged his grandson, pulling away as Yugi winced and looked him over with concern.

“You don’t remember?” he asked and Yugi paused, going back over the details in his mind. As he did so, he also looked around the room. The light coming through the window was from a setting sun, so it was late in the day, which gave reason as to why Tea and Tristan were there, both asleep on the small couch that sat against the wall. However, it didn’t explain how Joey and Mae were there, resting in uncomfortable looking plastic chairs off to the side by the door. He looked back at his grandpa and wondered when he’d come back from lunch. He remembered the pain, but he couldn’t remember what caused it.

“Not really, just suddenly feeling… pain, I don’t know. What happened?”

“We came back from lunch and found you collapsed on the floor,” Professor Hawkins said, jumping into the conversation as he sat on the end of Yugi’s bed. “No matter what we did, you wouldn’t wake up, so we finally called for an ambulance and they brought you here. They said that you were extremely dehydrated and mal nourished.”

“Really?” Yugi quietly muttered, surprised that that was all they said. “That doesn’t make any sense. What about this pain? It came out of nowhere, before that I was just tired with a slight headache.”

“Tea told us the same thing,” Grandpa said, “But that’s what the doctors confirmed was the issue for your sudden collapsed. Lack of food, water, and rest. You’re in pain?”

“How strange,” Yugi mumbled, ignoring his grandpa’s question, not wanting him to worry, and began rubbing at a spot on his head that was particularly sore. It felt more like someone had hit him there rather than just a headache. “I guess I have been less attentive to my water intake...” Still, that didn’t explain everything else. “I suppose it’s good I was able to get a few hours rest though.”

Yugi then watched Professor Hawkins and Grandpa share a worried look.

“What?”

“Yugi, it’s Sunday. Sunday evening,” Grandpa said, and it took Yugi’s mind a few seconds to catch up at which point he began shaking his head.

“But… but it w-was Friday!” He spluttered, “I’ve been out for nearly two days?”

They two simply nodded.

“I need my phone,” Yugi said, remembering his conversation with Marik as well as having a sudden feeling of what could possibly be going on. It was a crazy idea, an insane one that made him feel hopeful and hopeless at the same time. But, something Marik had said before was now pulling at his aching mind, as well as images from his dream, and he needed to confirm his theory.

“Yugi, maybe you should just rest some more, I can go and get the doctor and-”

“No!” Yugi shouted, only to smile and take his grandpa’s hand. “Listen, I don’t know what’s going on, but I feel like I need to trust my gut on this. Please, I need my phone.”

After a moment of hesitation, his grandpa nodded and went over to a bag that sat on the couch beside Tea, where he reached in and pulled out the cell phone, returning it to Yugi, who quickly unlocked it. He checked the date, and sure enough, it read _Sunday, September 24, 6:38pm_. It didn’t seem possible, but there was no denying it now. He shook himself off and quickly went into his call logs, hitting Marik’s number and placing the phone against his ear. He briefly worried that Marik might be asleep, but then remembered that Japan was seven hours ahead, and that it wasn’t even noon there yet, and waited as the ringing continued.

_“Hello?”_ came Marik voice through the phone.

“Marik, it’s Yugi.”

_“Hey! Yugi! So, I mentioned what we talked about last time to Ishizu and Odion, and they agree that you should trust your instincts, but none of us are really sure what to tell you about your feeling other than to keep paying attention.”_

“I don’t really have much choice,” Yugi replied. 

“ _What do you mean?_ ” Marik asked, his voice becoming concerned.

“I need to ask you something… and it’s going to sound a little insane,” he muttered.

_“Okay, is everything alright?”_ Marik asked.

Yugi glanced at his Grandpa and the Professor and their concerned looks and sighed.

“I’m not sure, but before I explain, I need to know something.” 

_“Okay, let me put you on speaker, Ishizu is here too,”_ he said and there was slight change to the sound on the phone. _“Go ahead Yugi.”_

“You mentioned before how I was chosen to be the vessel for Yami, and I know that through that, he and I gained a connection.” Yugi explained, trying to organize his thoughts.

_“Yes, this is true,”_ Marik said, _“But I’m not sure I understand what you want to know.”_

“I want to know if due to being chosen as his vessel, and given that connection, would the connection continue even today... You know, if he came back.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone, which left Yugi gripping the edge of the hospital blanket in his free hand so tightly his knuckles were beginning to turn white.

_“It’s possible,”_ came Ishizu’s voice through the phone, _“The millennium puzzle bonded the two of you, so it would stand to reason that should The Pharaoh return, whether in body or spirit, that the connection would still be there.”_

Yugi let out a breath and leaned back against the pillow, closing his eyes.

“I need you guys to do something for me, and it might seem strange, even crazy, but I need you to trust me” he said, his voice soft.

_“What is it?”_ Ishizu asked.

“I need you to go to Yami’s tomb and make sure everything is still there.” Yugi said, finally opening his eyes and looking at his Grandfather and the Professor, who were now staring at him as though he’d gone insane. He kind of felt like he had. Go and check on the body of someone who’d been dead for five thousand years? It made no sense and Yugi almost told Ishizu and Marik to forget it, but the feeling in his stomach tightened, and he held back his words. This was what he needed done.

_“You think that The Pharaoh has returned?”_ Marik finally asked, his voice shocked.

“I don’t know. It seems completely illogical, but it’s the only theory that’s coming to mind. All I really do know is that since Friday morning I’ve a feeling that the world just _changed_ , and I haven’t felt like that since Yami was around. And then… then there’s the fact that I’ve been unconscious for two days due to dehydration and malnutrition and an all over pain, which I know is impossible.”

There was another long pause, followed by the sound of someone letting out a long breath.

_“Well, if The Pharaoh did somehow manage to return, and in his own body nonetheless, I would expect it to be in great need of water and food, especially after being dead for five thousand years,”_ Marik muttered and then laughed. _“We’ll go and check on the tomb tonight and let you know what we find.”_

“Thank you!” Yugi said, breathing out a sigh of relief. They quickly said their goodbyes and hung up, at which point Yugi sat up and smiled at his Grandpa.

“Yugi, you can’t possibly believe that he’s returned,” Solomon said, squeezing Yugi’s hands in hopes of conveying only his worry and no intent to insult, but Yugi only smiled bigger and shrugged.

“I don’t know, but if I can have it confirmed, then I can move onto my next theory, but…” Yugi paused and looked out the window, to the sky that was already starting to turn a deep orange, “I have to trust my instincts… besides, I dreamt about him, and never before has it seemed more real.”

“What was your dream?”

“Arthur, you-”

“Have more faith Solomon!” he said, his British accent making him seem more authoritative in this moment. “He’s trying to figure this out, and since he’s saved the world, I think we can offer him some support. Yugi, what was your dream?”

“It’s hard to explain because it was more like flashes, but I remember sitting at a table in a tent, across from a man, and he placed the millennium necklace on the table. Then it jumped to me seeing him drag Yami out of a tent and basically chain him to the cliff wall.”

“Seems odd for a dream,” Arthur mused, “and just those two images?”

Yugi nodded.

“Hey, do you think we can leave here?” Yugi asked, looking back at his Grandpa, who sighed and stood up.

“I’ll go and tell the doctors that you’re awake and we’ll see what they say.”

“Thanks Grandpa!”

Yugi watched him leave the room, at which point he fell back onto the pillows, still feeling very exhausted. If Yugi was right, if Yami had come back and there was a connection pulling them together, then did Yami feel this way too? Yugi wasn’t sure he really wanted an answer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remember- Some intense Yami whump up ahead.   
> Thanks for Reading!   
> ******

Marik, Odion and Ishizu stood in the tunnel, staring at the collapsed part of the ceiling, and the exposed hand from whomever had been crushed underneath it, before exchanging a look.

“This doesn’t mean that Yugi’s theory is right,” Marik warranted, his voice echoing about the tunnel, “It just means that some idiot tomb robber met with an unfortunate fate.”

Ishizu nodded, but she was beginning to feel as though the young boy was right. True, they had hoped he was wrong, but after witnessing the sprung traps and now this, Ishizu was starting to remember why she’d never doubted him before.

“Come on,” Odion said, taking the lead once more, shining his flashlight down the corridor, “We still have a little way to go.”

They all nodded and continued walking down the long tunnel in silence, almost as though they were all afraid to admit their feelings on the subject to each other. It was a strange combination to be sure, Marik felt both worried that Yugi was right and excited. None of them had been exactly happy at The Pharaoh’s departure- they had all just started to get to know him, so the idea of having him back seemed like an answer to prayers. However, if he was back, then why and what for, and what would the consequences of that action be?

“Here we are,” Odion said, stopping at an opening that seemed to be blocked.

“Another trap was set off,” Ishizu muttered, stepping forward and around the giant mallets that had swung into each other. Then she turned to the cavern and gasped.

“Ishizu!” Marik called, moving to her and stopping upon seeing the place.

“What… happened?” Odion whispered as he walked further into the cavern, looking around at the place, eyeing the gold that was thrown about everywhere and the cracked stone floor and walls.

“The Pharaoh!” Marik muttered and ran to the sarcophagus, only to stop at the bottom of the stairs. The lid to the coffin was lying on the floor behind it. Moving slowly up the three remaining steps, Marik was practically holding his breath as he looked in, only to let it out in a shocked breath, finding it empty.

“Marik?”

He turned to see his siblings standing behind him, waiting expectantly.

“He’s gone.”

“By all the Gods,” Odion whispered, bowing his head before looking around once more. He moved off to the side, while Marik and Ishizu sat on the steps, not sure what to do.

“We… we need to call Yugi,” Ishizu muttered, “Tell him he was right.”

“Yeah,” Marik muttered. “We’ll have to head back to town for that, no service out here.”

“Marik! Ishizu!” Odion called, drawing both their attentions. He was kneeling amongst some sand, and then glanced at them, “You might want to check this out.”

“What is it?” They asked as they walked over, stopping when they saw what he was staring at. Mixed in with the sand was clothing; khaki pants, cotton shirts, scarfs for blocking the sand in the wind, and an assortment of necklaces and rings.

“I think someone else brought the Pharaoh back, and that he used human sacrifices to do it,” Odion said, his voice calm but his face showing the horror he felt.

“By all the Gods,” Marik whispered, running his hands through his hair. “This can’t be good.”

“If someone managed to learn that type of ritual…” Ishizu couldn’t even finish the sentence. She reached out and grabbed Marik’s hand. “I think we need to split up.”

“What?” Odion said, standing.

“Yugi needs to know that he was right, but we also need to find the individual who has done this before he does anything else,” Ishizu said. “Odion, return to the city, call Yugi and his friends and tell them all, we will continue to search around here for clues. When you are done, return here, and we will search further out.”

“Is that such a good idea?” He mused, “Perhaps it would be better to stay together.”

“We cannot leave our King in the hands of that man Odion,” she said and Odion sighed, pulling his siblings into a hug.

“Be safe, the both of you!” he insisted, “I’m going to gather up the clothing here. Perhaps somewhere in it we can find the identities of the people and alert their families.”

They left him in the cavern picking up the clothes and headed down the tunnel at such a speed that Marik could barely keep up.

“Ishizu, why don’t you want Odion to come?” Marik asked as they exited onto the cliff edge. She stopped, sighing heavily and turning to her brother.

“Because Odion still feels like he owes The Pharaoh for saving you, which we all do, but I fear that he will go to extremes. I’d rather keep him out of it to avoid a fight.”

Marik sighed and looked out over the desert before them. It was dark, and the wind had begun to pick up, blasting the cold air against the exposed skin. He knew she was right, but it always felt strange to not have-

“Did you hear that?” Marik asked, and Ishizu stopped, staring at him with a worried expression.

“Hear what?” she asked and Marik stepped closer to the edge, looking around, when he suddenly heard it again; A soft shouting, displaced by the wind. He then glanced down, looking toward the edge of the cliff.

“What the hell?” he muttered, kneeling down and staring at the four-car convoy that had settled at the base of the cliff, there was even a small fire going and people running about. Looking out over the horizon you wouldn’t see it, they had managed to set it up in such a way that you would need to be looking straight down.

“Were they there this entire time?” Ishizu asked as they lowered themselves, eyeing the group.

“Do you think…?” Marik asked, looking at his sister. She returned his gaze and nodded, and without another word they began the climb down the cliffs edge.

* * * *

The wind blew against Yami with almost an angry vengeance, causing him to shiver as it blew at his loose clothing, hitting his skin, making the aches in his muscles even worse. Though he did have to admit that he was happier in the clothing than the rags.

“I’m surprised,” Keaton said, drawing Yami’s attention to him. He was standing just a way off in front of him, a bowl of some kind of food in his hands. Yami’s stomach growled at him in hunger, reminding him that he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink since waking up, or longer if you wanted to take the years he’d been dead into account as well.

As he eyed the food, he wondered how long ago that was- Ace had been a couple of days ago at least, Yami had been through more than one night since, but… he couldn’t place the time line.

“And what surprises you this time Keaton?” Yami finally muttered with chattering teeth, knowing that he was going to get a conversation with this man whether he contributed or not.

Keaton smiled.

“You are free to call me Liam,” he said and then began eating his food, which was a bowl of noodles that looked better than any feast Yami had seen in his life. “I’m surprised by your commitment to this lie. I mean, letting a man die like that, it shows some serious devotion.”

“I didn’t let him die, you killed him. And what makes you so certain it’s a lie?” Yami questioned and Liam held his red gaze, trying to find some hint of deception. He found none, only anger and exhaustion, but he was unwilling to believe he’d gone through so much for nothing.

“Because you have to be lying,” he muttered, “I mean, why else would you be so upset over the death of someone you just met.”

Yami chuckled and forced himself into a straighter position, causing the cold metal of his shackles to rub against his raw wrists.

“In my opinion, you don’t need to know someone to feel sorry for them being dead. And why exactly do I _have_ to be lying? So that your little spell wasn’t for nothing?” Yami said, a mocking tone to his voice.

“You know, you speak as though you’re familiar with magic, and yet I have yet to see you use any,” Liam retorted, a smirk on his face.

Yami shook his head.

“I can barely stand without assistance, and you’re expecting a display of magic?” Yami muttered, giving him a look of disbelief.

“I suppose that makes sense,” Liam muttered, setting his bowl on the chair placed to the side before he began pacing back and forth, his brow furrowing as he thought. After several minutes of silence, Yami relaxed once more, unable to hold himself any longer, he hung from his wrists, wanting nothing more than to sleep, but finding that when he did he always woke up out of breath due to his position. 

“Still,” Liam said, “I believe there is more than you’re letting on.”

“And what could I possibly be hiding?” Yami demanded.

“You hid your English for starters,” Liam answered, eyeing Yami with curiosity as his head tilted slightly, “and I am still surprised by how modern your English sounds…”

Yami said nothing.

“Then there’s the fact of your anger at the item I possess… you were more than just surprised that I had it, you were… worried I’d say. And then there’s the fact that you just seem very… at home since returning. I would have thought the things you’re seeing around you would frighten you,” Liam said, gesturing around them at the tents and men and cars. “It’s as though you’ve seen it all before, and yet that’s impossible.”

Yami simply remained silent as Liam talked. He hadn’t even thought about needing to be surprised by the cars or guns. Having spent those years with Yugi had opened his mind to the things of the present so they weren’t that strange to him.

“Ah…” Liam said, moving closer and grabbing Yami’s chin once more. “The great Pharaoh Atem does have a secret.”

Yami scoffed.

“I have many,” he whispered, “And wouldn’t you like to know them.”

Anger flashed across Liam’s face just before he stepped away, grabbing his food and leaving Yami to once more stand in the wind. It blew again, forcing him into the cold stone behind him, and he did his best to shield his face from the sand. Once it was passed he looked back out over the desert, and the dark sky above it that seemed alive with all the stars.

_Mahad…. If you are there, and you are watching out for me like before, please help me… because I don’t know what to do,_ Yami thought as he stared at the sky, hoping his thoughts would be heard.

The sounds of gunshots and shouts startled Yami from his inner thoughts, and he looked out over the camp. The men that had been standing around having dinner were now running about, throwing on the lights to illuminate the camp.

“Catch them!” Liam shouted, his voice echoing around the camp like that of general commanding an army. Yami watched as the men ran about, nearly ripping the camp apart.

A movement to the side caught Yami’s attention and he glanced to his right, where behind one of the jeeps were two people, doing their best to hide from the spotlights and men. It was as Yami was staring at them that one turned and saw him, and as the purple eyes met his, Yami felt as though the breath in his lungs had been taken from him. It took Marik a second longer for recognition to fall on him, but when it did, a look of horror and joy came to his face.

He pulled at Ishizu’s arm and pointed, at which she looked to Yami as well and he watched as tears began to fall from her eyes and she began to shake her head.

“Check the jeeps!” Liam shouted, and the men began to tear apart the vehicles, throwing boxes and supplies from the cabins. Yami looked back at the two and saw that they were facing him, as though ready to run to him.

“No!” Yami mouthed, shaking his head. He looked back to the camp, where he could see a group of men coming toward the last jeep, while others began to search the tents. He looked back to Marik, who was now crying as well, and shook his head once more. “Run!”

Marik began to shake his head back and forth, conveying that they just couldn’t leave. Yami ground his teeth together, looking back to the men who were coming closer, but it was Liam who caught his attention, for he had been staring at Yami and was now smiling.

“Run!” Yami shouted, using his full volume, at the same time that Liam shouted, “Behind the jeep!”

Fear came to Marik and Ishizu’s faces as the men began to surround them. Marik got in a few good punches, and Ishizu manage to land a solid kick to one of the men’s groins before they were overpowered. After all, it was eight to two. Yami would have been surprised if they’d made it. But now he watched as they were bound with ropes and dragged toward him, where they were forced to their knees in front of Liam, who was sitting in the chair like a king ready to deliver a death sentence.

“Well this has turned into an interesting night in just a matter of a few minutes,” he muttered, glancing back at Yami, who had found some strength and was leaning away from the wall, glaring at him with as much hatred as his tired mind could produce. “Care to tell me who you are?”

Marik finally looked at Liam, his purple eyes turning into a glare.

“We’re the keepers of The Pharaoh’s tomb,” he said, his voice full of venom. “How dare you step into such hollowed ground and desecrate it!”

Liam laughed, standing and moving the chair to the side before coming to stand beside Yami. He stroked one hand down his cheek, to which Yami jerked away.

“I have brought your great Pharaoh back from the dead… I would think you’d be grateful!” Liam insisted.

“Hardly,” Ishizu muttered. Yami turned to her, for the Ishizu he remembered had been calm and softly spoken, but the one who was before him now had a fire in her blue eyes, and with the changed outfit of khaki pants, a white shirt with a green vest over it and hiking boots with her hair pulled up into a pony tail, she was practically a different person.

“And why would you not be grateful?” Liam wondered.

“He was at peace!” Ishizu shouted, “a peace he strived for, for so long, and you ruined it.”

Liam paused as he mulled over her words. Suddenly, he shoved off from the stone and walked over to the fire, where he grabbed at one of the skewers that was sticking out of the flames, moving it around in the hot embers.

“I did a lot of research into Pharaoh Atem before coming to Egypt. I needed to make sure that I was bringing back the right King; after all, I only had one chance at it. But you see… in all the research I did, it said nothing about him having to fight for peace.” Liam said, turning to look back at Yami, who couldn’t stop the slight flinch that his body did. “He was a brave king who saved his people from a great evil, one that he gladly gave his life to stop. True, I suppose you could say the fight against this evil was his battle for peace, but…”

Ishizu stared at the sand, cursing her words and the effect they had had, for never did she think this man would be so perceptive. She looked up at Yami with an apology in her eyes, to which he just smiled slightly before looking back at Liam.

Liam smiled an evil smile at him, sending a chill up Yami’s spine, as he then pulled the skewer from the fire. On the opposing end though wasn’t a point, but a shape. It was a Scarab, no more than five or six inches long, glowing reddish orange from being in the fire for so long. Liam walked over to Ishizu and held it to her face.

“Liam!” Yami shouted, “Enough! They have nothing to do with this!”

Liam pursed his lips.

“I’m shocked by how much you seem to care about them Atem,” he said and Yami looked between Marik and Ishizu, “I mean, I know you said you don’t need to know someone to care for them, but these two… it really seems like you know them.”

“They are innocent, there is no reason to hurt them,” Yami growled.

Liam smiled.

He then snapped his fingers and then man standing behind Ishizu slammed his gun into her back.

“Ishizu!” Marik shouted, but was stopped by Harris, who hauled him to his feet and held a knife at his throat.

“Where is the puzzle Atem?”

Yami turned his gaze to him, and the shocked expression there made Liam want to laugh.

Ishizu cried out again as the man slammed the gun into the back of her leg.

“Where is it?” Liam asked again.

“I don’t know!” Yami shouted, “Please! Stop!”

“Tell me where it is, and I will,” Liam countered, and the man kicked Ishizu in the stomach.

“Leave her alone!” Marik shouted, but was yanked back, the knife drawing a small line of blood.

“No!” Yami shouted, “Liam! Stop!”

“Where is the millennium puzzle?”

“I don’t know!” Yami shouted again, his voice losing all confidence as he gave up, for he didn’t have the strength to keep going. “I swear to you, I don’t know! Yes, I did have it at one point, but the last time I saw it was seven years ago, where it then fell down a hole after a cave-in! That’s all I know! I couldn’t even tell you where the cave is!”

There was silence after Yami’s explanation at which Liam stepped away from Ishizu, and Marik was dropped to the sand. He inched closer to her, trying to help, but finding it impossible with his hands bound. Liam walked over to Yami, eyeing him with confusion.

“ _Seven_ years ago?” he repeated and Yami closed his eyes, shaking his head.

“There is a lot more to my past than you know,” Yami said, looking back up. “It’s complicated, but basically, I know them, and they know me, because they helped me defeat that evil once more and move on.”

“Ah…” Liam said, looking back at Marik, “so this cave, do you know where it is?”

Marik looked to Yami and then back at Liam.

“No,” he said.

Liam suddenly spun around, lifting Yami’s shirt, shoving him into the cliff before pressing the glowing red Scarab into the flesh on his lower right side. Yami screamed in spite of himself, his body automatically jerking away, but finding no avail thanks to the chains and the cliff wall.

“What the hell?” Marik shouted, at which Liam removed the metal from Yami’s flesh, causing another weak and mangeled scream as it ripped at the skin that had melted to it.

“Take me to the cave, or we’ll be starting again,” he said, his voice menacing and nearly on the verge of shouting. Marik looked to Yami, who was breathing heavily as tears flowed from his eyes of their own accord. There was a gash on his forehead, which no one had bothered to treat or clean up, for the right side of his face was covered in dried blood, as well as a cut to his lip and bruising on his other cheek. Through the openings in the white shirt, Marik could see bruising and figured this wasn’t the first interrogation he’d been through, for his ribs were completely black and blue, and with the addition of the new burn mark, he didn’t look good.

He looked back at the man, Liam, and nodded his head.

“It’s on the northern edge of the Nile, about a two days journey from here in car, and then another day by boat.” Marik said.

“Excellent!” Liam trilled, throwing the skewer back toward the fire and smiling. “And you will lead the way.”

“I will under conditions.” Marik snapped, causing Liam to stop smiling.

“And why would I agree to your conditions?”

“Because you’re desperate, and impatient, and I am perfectly content to sit and say nothing while that impatience eats at you. Do we have a deal?”

“And what if your refusal to say anything just leads to your friends being hurt or killed?” Liam asked and Marik swallowed. He was playing with fire and he had to be careful.

“Well, if you kill them, then you have no leverage, which just leads me back to my silence.”

Liam was silent for so long that Marik began to worry if he might just let them sit there, adding to both Ishizu and The Pharaohs pain.

“What are your conditions?” Liam finally asked, folding his arms.

“You give us until tomorrow to heal up, let me treat both my sisters and The Pharaoh’s injuries. Give us food and water. When that is done, either I or my sister can lead you there,” Marik said and Liam sighed, looking between the three of them, his eyes lingering on Atem, who appeared about ready to collapse even with the chains that held him up. He didn’t particularly want to help, but he did need them alive if he wanted to get to this cave.

“Very well.” He said, “Clear out the van for them, give him medical supplies and prepare more food for them. We leave no later than nine a.m. tomorrow!”

The men began moving with military like precision. One picked Ishizu up his arms and began carrying her, while two of them loosened Yami from the cliff wall and began taking him through the sand. Marik was dragged along as well but managed to keep a better footing due to his healthier condition. They brought them to a van, though it wasn’t very big, mainly just a supply van that had been emptied out. Ishizu was already inside, holding her stomach as she leaned against the wall, eyes closed. The men lead Yami in, where he too nearly collapsed. Just before letting Marik step in, they threw a bag full of supplies and three water bottles. Marik’s ropes were cut loose and he was thrown in, the doors slamming and locking behind him, at which point he went to his sister.

“Ishizu?” he whispered, and her eyes opened slightly, and she smiled, reaching up with her free hand and cupping his face.

“I’m okay, just sore and a little bruised. Please, help the Pharaoh,” she said, turning to see him still lying still on the floor, breathing deeply.

“Okay, but try to drink this,” Marik said, grabbing one of the water bottles and placing it in her hand.

She nodded.

Marik then took a deep breath and moved to Yami. He was lying his left side, his breathing coming in rapid and short breaths.

“Pharaoh…” He said, “Can you sit up?”

Yami then took a deep breath and using all the strength he had, forced himself into a sitting position. With Mariks help, he moved so that he could lean against the wall, where he then relaxed and smiled at the man in front of him.

“Not how I pictured the reunion,” he muttered wincing as his deep breaths caused pain in his ribs. Marik laughed, shaking his head and smiling at the Pharaoh. Despite all the injuries, it was truly him, and it filled Marik with joy to see him.

“We’ll have to throw a proper party later,” Marik said and Yami smiled, his surprisingly deep red eyes looking over Marik.

“It really is nice to see a familiar face,” he whispered, ignoring Mariks comment, for he didn’t want to think about later. “But, how did you know to be here?”

Marik smiled as he pulled the bag over to him and began looking inside. He found a small bottle of rubbing alcohol, some cloths and bandages, and even a stitching kit.

“Actually, it was Yugi,” he said as he began examining the gash to Yami’s head.

Yami blinked.

“Yugi?” he muttered and Marik nodded.

“Apparently your connection is stronger than anyone realized because ever since about… oh, three or so days ago, he’s had a feeling that something bad had happened, or something had changed. He called us this morning and asked us to check on your tomb, and that’s how we found you.”

“Wow,” was all Yami could think to say. He stayed quiet, thinking about it all while Marik poured the rubbing alcohol onto the cloth and then began pressing it to the gash.

Yami winced but did his best to stay still as Marik worked cleaning up the wound. He used some of the water to clean the blood off his face.

“Thankfully you don’t need stitches for this,” Marik said as he pressed the butterfly bandage to it, keeping it together. He then looked down at Yami’s chest and stomach, his face becoming very worried.

“Trust me Marik, anything you do is only going to make it better,” Yami said, and Marik sighed.

“I suppose we’ll see about that,” he muttered as he undid the buttons on the shirt, pulling it away. He was surprised by two things; the first being how fit and strong The Pharaoh looked, for he seemed as healthy as the day he’d left. The second was all the bruising that was spanning across the Pharaoh’s ribs in different shapes and colors. There wasn’t much that Marik could do about that, but as his eyes went to the burn, he wanted to hit something. The emblem of the Scarab had been forever imprinted into Yami’s skin and looked bad. The skin had bubbled around the edges due to the heat and was torn in many places, the main of the mark was red and exposed, bleeding and oozing.

“Okay,” Marik said, grabbing the alcohol bottle and looking at Yami. “This is going to hurt.”

Yami pressed his lips together, and then quickly moved to undo the belt around his waist, wincing and groaning as it pulled at the injuries and sore muscles. He folded it and placed it between his teeth, biting down and then nodding at Marik for a go ahead.

The moment the liquid hit the burn Yami couldn’t contain the scream, a muffled cry that sounded between his teeth as he bit down harder, and his hands twisted in his hair, keeping them from shoving Marik away as he worked. He did his best to be gentle, but with the wound so ragged, there wasn’t much he could do otherwise. Still, he cleaned it up with alcohol and water, taking one of the cloths and spreading an anti-bacterial cream into it, and quickly pressing it against the burnt flesh. Yami yelped and tears came from his eyes as Marik applied pleasure.

“I need you to sit up,” Marik said and Yami spit the belt from his mouth, and pushed himself up, allowing Marik to wrap the bandages about his waist. He taped it together, at which Yami fell back against the wall with a heavy sigh, his eyes closing as the pain and tiredness began to pull at his mind.

“Hey!” Marik said, shaking his shoulder, and Yami forced his eyes open once more. “You can’t fall asleep, not until you’ve eaten.”

Yami sighed, nodding his head, but let his eyes close again.

“I’m not messing around,” Marik said, moving to support Yami against his chest as he opened a fresh bottle of water and pressed it to Yami’s lips, tilting it so that the water flowed out into his mouth. The moment the cool liquid hit his tongue Yami seemed to wake up, greedily drinking the water until both his and the second were gone.

“Here,” Ishizu said, moving over to them and holding her half full water bottle out to him, “He needs it more than I do.”

There was no arguing with her, so Marik took the bottle and helped Yami drink, at which he relaxed back into Marik, unable to keep his eyes open, he fell asleep. Marik sighed and closed his own eyes, leaning back against the wall.

“Was this the right thing to do?” He asked.

“I believe it was,” Ishizu replied, “Given the circumstances.”

Marik looked down at The Pharaoh, to his broken and bruised body that seemed so weak. There was no way he could take more abuse from Liam; Marik was honestly surprised he had made it the last few days.

“Odion will be here in the morning and find us gone, he will get help, and Yugi will be on his way too,” Ishizu said, sitting more up right. She smiled at The Pharaoh and reached over to brush a strand of hair from his face. “Everything will work out.”

“I just hope it does soon,” Marik muttered and then they were silent as they simply waited for morning.

* * * *

Yugi sat on the couch, drumming his fingers against the arm of it with a steady rhythm that drummed out as he blankly watched the news go by. His hope in turning it on was that it would help distract him, but it wasn’t working.

“You’re drivin’ me insane with that tappin Yug!” Joey said from the other end.

Yugi smiled apologetically as he squeezed his hands into fists and placed them on his lap.

“Sorry… guess I’m just a little worried still,” he muttered.

“What for?” Joey asked as he leaned back and extended his legs. “Marik will call when he knows somethin’ and then we will proceed from there. There’s nothin’ to worry about.”

“Try passing out due to impossible reasons and then tell me that,” Yugi muttered and Joey looked at him.

“You really believe it’s because of the Pharaoh huh?” he muttered and Yugi sighed, standing up and beginning to pace.

“I don’t know,” he finally said, stopping and looking at his friend, “and I think that is what’s worrying me so much.” 

“I just don’t want you gettin’ your hopes up Yug,” Joey said, choosing to be honest.

“Not you too!” Yugi demanded.

“It’s no secret that you miss him!” Joey shouted back and Yugi sighed.

“You do realize that I hope I’m wrong. Because if I’m right and the reason I feel so weak and in so much pain is because of the bond I share with Yami, then it’s because he feels that way.” 

Joey sighed and nodded his head.

“Yeah…” he muttered, not sure what else to add.

“Look, I want him back, there’s no denying that fact. But not like this,” Yugi admitted, turning to look through the archway that lead to the kitchen where Professor Hawkins, Tea and his grandfather were- all of them talking and stealing glances into the room. “I just… I just can’t ignore this feeling anymore.”

“No one is asking you too,” Joey said, turning away from Tea’s worried look to smile at his friend. “I trust you Yugi, with my life, and I know that Yami would too.”

Yugi smiled and nodded, only to jump about a foot in the air as his phone began to ring. He picked it up from the table and read an unknown number. Tea and the others had come into the living room, all with expectant looks. Taking a deep breath, Yugi answered the phone and pressed it to his ear.

“Hello, this is Yugi.”

_“Hey, it’s Odion,”_ came the deep voice from the other end with just a little bit of static. “ _Sorry if it’s hard to hear me, I called you as soon as I had enough signal.”_

“Nah, you’re good, I can hear you fine Odion,” Yugi said and felt the air in the room change as his name was said, as though everyone was holding their breath, which considering the situation, wasn’t too hard to believe. “Did you guys find anything?”

There was a pause on the phone that left Yugi feeling even worse.

_“The tomb appeared to have been ransacked,”_ Odion said, _“and… the sarcophagus was empty.”_

Yugi let out the breath he was holding and squeezed his eyes shut.

“So, he’s back?” he said, and though it was phrased as a question, he knew it was true. He’d known it was true since the morning he’d woken up but hadn’t wanted to admit it to himself.

_“It would appear so,”_ Odion said, _“Marik and Ishizu stayed behind to search for clues, but we wanted to let you know that you were right. Also, that you should probably get out here as soon as possible. With that connection you seem to have, it could make finding him easier.”_

“Of course,” Yugi said, moving to stand, “I’ll talk to Kaiba and see if he can do anything for me.”

_“I hate to give you the news and go, but I should get back to Marik and Ishizu,”_ Odion said and Yugi could hear the worry in his voice. He had been surprised when he’d said they’d split up, it was so rare for the three of them to be apart, so he understood Odion’s worry.

“Of course! But, how will I contact you when I arrive?” Yugi said, moving around the worried and shocked faces so that he could leave as soon as he was off the phone.

_“Call this number again, we should be back in cell service. If no one answers, head to the museum that Ishizu works at and they can give you a satellite phone that will connect to the one we have,”_ Odion said and Yugi nodded.

“Alright, thanks Odion, I really appreciate you taking the time to tell me. I will head out right-”

Yugi’s voice suddenly cut off and he dropped the phone as a burning pain began to radiate from his side. The shock of the feeling made him silent, but now that he recognized that it was real, he let out a scream, falling to the floor as he held his stomach. He could slightly hear the muted shouts of Odion from the phone but couldn’t make them out over the pain and the tears that were flowing from his eyes. He squeezed them shut, but instead of seeing the blackness he’d hoped for, he saw a dark night sky with rolling sand below it. Jeeps and tents blocked part of the view as did men in khaki with guns. The vision blurred as it shifted down and Yugi cried out again as a long metal rod with some symbol on the end was removed from his side, taking melted flesh with it. He looked up and saw burry vision Marik and Ishizu, both bound and looking battered, Marik glaring off to the side.

“YUGI!”

Finally, Yugi opened his eyes and saw Tea, her blue eyes full of tears and fear as she looked at him. He was lying on his back, staring up at her and the ceiling. But he’d just been… no, not him.

“Odion needs to get back there now!” Yugi said, his voice shaking from the aftereffects of the vision. The pain was only an echo now, a soft burn against the memory of it happening.

“Yugi, what happened?” Tea demanded.

Yugi forced himself to sit up and look around. Joey had the phone pressed to his ear and was telling Odion what had happened. Yugi held his hand out for the phone and Joey passed it to him without a word.

“Odion, get back to Marik and Ishizu now, they’re in trouble…” He said and then looked at each face in turn before finishing. “Yami too. Please hurry!”

_“What happened?”_ Odion demanded, fading out more than before. He was moving as he spoke. Good.

“I don’t believe that Yami came back on his own, there is someone there using him, and he just hurt Yami… I think to get information from Marik.”

“ _They have Marik? Ishizu?”_ Odion demanded.

“Yes, please hurry. I’m leaving now and will be there as soon as I can. Go!” Yugi said and hung up before Odion could say or ask anything else. He turned, heading for the door with the only thought of how to convince Kaiba to let him borrow a jet.

“Yugi! Wait!” Tea said, grabbing his wrist.

He yanked it from her, turning to look her dead in the eye.

“I know that you think this is bad idea, but I’m going!” he snapped, and she stepped back, surprise on her face.

“Of course, you’re going,” she said matter of factly and then smiled. “But did you honestly think that we were going to let you go alone?”

Yugi blinked and looked around the room. Joey smiled and gave a thumbs up while his grandfather nodded his head, a proud look on his face.

“We never expected you to sit around Yugi,” Professor Hawkins said.

“In fact, if your theory was right, I was going to insist that you go,” his Grandfather added.

“I’ve already called Tristan and he said that he would meet us outside Kaiba Corp. with Duke,” Joey said, his smile becoming bigger. “We got ourselves another Adventure!”

“Yami is our friend too Yugi,” Tea said firmly, “We wouldn’t abandon him just like we wouldn’t each other. Has this not sunk in yet?”

Yugi laughed and wiped at the tears in his eyes before nodding.

“Alright, now we just have to convince Kaiba.”

“What are we waiting for?” Joey said, bounding toward the door. “I’ve missed that spoiled rich kid.”

After giving his grandfather a hug, Yugi and Tea ran after Joey, both anxious and even slightly excited for what lay ahead.


	5. Chapter 5

“Sir?”

“What is it?” Kaiba asked without looking up from his paperwork.

“Yugi Motou and friends are here to see you.” 

That gave Kaiba some pause, and he glanced up at the secretary that was barely sticking her out of the door, a look of worry on her face. And here he thought he’d improved his people skills. Guess that was going to take a little more work.

“What do they want?” he asked, and the girl straightened up and smiled sheepishly.

“Uh… he said that it would need explaining in person.” She muttered.

_This ought to be good_ , He thought with a heavy sigh.

“Send them in,” he muttered, setting aside the paperwork as she opened the door to let them in. Yugi was the first to enter, with Tea, Joey, Tristan and Duke behind him. It was the entire nerd herd, all back together.

“Surprised he agreed to see us,” Joey muttered, putting forth no effort to lower his voice.

“Yugi,” Kaiba said, simply ignoring the blonde idiot, “What can I do for you?”

Yugi looked at him, the deep purple of his eyes almost hypnotic as he stared at the CEO. He then sighed and smiled.

“Yami has come back from the dead. Marik and Ishizu have been taken by the man who brought him back. Now I have go to Egypt to help save all of them and prevent any death or world ending events from occurring. So, can I borrow your jet?”

A long silence followed Yugi’s explanation. It was a stunned silence from his friends and a surprised and slightly amused one from Kaiba. His surprise came from the news, though he’d never made his skepticism on the whole matter a secret to Yugi and his nerd herd and had completely denied the fact of Yami’s existence up until his insane trip back to the past. His amusement came from Yugi’s candor, for he sounded more like his ancient counterpart when he spoke without worry, and it was something Kaiba liked from him. But, despite the fact of that Yugi and his relationship had gotten better, he had always preferred the Pharaoh.

“Well,” Kaiba said, standing up. “I suppose we shouldn’t waste any time, now should we.”

“You’re going to help?” Duke demanded with a stunned expression that mirrored Joey’s and Tristan’s.

“You’re surprised?” Kaiba asked, turning and raising an eyebrow at them.

“Yeah!” They all said.

“With him back I can finally regain my title as the best duelist,” Kaiba said as nonchalantly as possible. He reached over and pressed the call button on his desk for the secretary. “That, and it’ll be nice to have someone who isn’t such a nerd around.” 

“Thank you Kaiba,” Yugi said, and the tone of his voice made Kaiba smile, which he quickly hid under a scoff.

“Whatever, you will owe me for this.”

“Did you need something sir?” the secretary asked.

“Yes, let Mokuba know that we will be leaving in 30 minutes and tell them to get my jet ready for takeoff… please.”

“Uh, where will you be going sir?” she asked hesitantly.

“Egypt,” he said, glancing up a few seconds later to see her still standing at the door as thought waiting for a punch line. “Why are you still standing there? Go!”

With that she hurried off.

“You’re going to come with us?” Tea asked, finally showing some surprise of her own.

“If you want to use my jet I am, otherwise, find your own way there,” he muttered, and she rolled her eyes.

“Seto, what’s this about a trip- oh!” Mokuba walked into the room, surprised to see all the people there.

“Well look at Mokuba all grown up!” Joey muttered, turning to take in the young kid all dressed up in nice slacks and a white shirt and tie. “You look more like the boss than your brother does!”

Mokuba rolled his eyes.

“What’s going on?” He asked and Kaiba smiled.

“It would seem that Yugi’s ancient friend has come back and needs some rescuing. You up for it?” Kaiba asked and Mokuba smiled.

“Hell yeah!”

Yugi laughed, glad for the assistance, but it was a short laugh. He knew he wouldn’t feel right again until Yami and the others were safe. The next thirty minutes were going to be very long.

* * * *

For a moment when Yami woke, he didn’t remember what had happened. Light was streaming in, and the air was warm, and he was so content in that split second, he was sure nothing had happened. And then the car hit a bump, jerking him, causing his aching muscles to protest, his broken ribs to cry out, and his blistered skin to pull. Hissing in pain he sat up, moving quickly to the wall as though he could move away from the pain, but it was pointless, for there was no escaping it. 

“You okay?”

The voice startled him slightly, but as he turned and saw Marik reaching out to him, a look of concern on his face, the memories came back, and he found himself leaning back against the wall of the cargo van and closing his eyes.

“Yeah,” he muttered, and opened them. Looking around the compartment he found that something was missing. “Where’s Ishizu?” 

Marik sighed, shaking his head and grinding his teeth together.

“I’m assuming in whatever vehicle our insane friend is in. He came about three hours ago and pulled her out, demanding that she led the way to that cave,” he muttered and then looked at Yami. “What does he want with the Millennium items anyway?”

Yami shook his head as he stretched his arms out in front of him, rolling his sore shoulders. He would have loved to do more, but the pain in his ribs and the chains about wrists prevented that.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” He answered, “Though I don’t believe it’s the items he wants- just the one.”

“Which one?” Marik asked and Yami raised an eyebrow.

“The millennium puzzle,” he replied with a hint of annoyance.

“Well, that’s just great!” Marik insisted as he moved to lie down across the floor, putting his hands behind his head and looking up. “Although the way he’s going about all this is kind of odd.”

“What do you mean?” Yami asked as he raised his shirt and looked at the bandages covering his lower abdomen. The burn was itching more than he imagined it would, and all he wanted to do was rip off the bandages and make it stop, but he knew that that wouldn’t really solve anything. Marik watched the Pharaoh from the corner of his eye, for part of him still felt like this wasn’t real and that he was merely dreaming, and he would wake up and none of this would have happened. It was a strange feeling to want that to be true and not be at the same time

“Well, why not go after Yugi,” Marik muttered. “I mean, he wants an item that someone in the present has had. I’m sure in all his research he must have come across Yugi and known he had it, so why go through the trouble of resurrecting a king who’s been dead for five thousand years when you could just buy a plane ticket and go and ask someone who is still currently alive and has more of a chance of knowing what you’re looking for.”

Yami stopped in his fiddling of the bandage and looked over at Marik. He hadn’t even thought about it like that, he had just been grateful that Liam hadn’t involved Yugi from the beginning. But Marik had a point; Liam seemed like someone who was both in a hurry and lacked patience, so why indeed go through all the trouble to bring Yami back, risking the chance that it wouldn’t work, just to find the puzzle.

“Maybe he can’t use it,” Yami heard himself say and Marik glanced up.

“What do you mean?”

Yami ran his hands down his face, wiping the perspiration away as well as hopefully some of his exhaustion.

“You know as well as I do that the item only works if it chooses you. Maybe Liam is afraid that the puzzle won’t work for him, so he searched for someone he _knew_ it would work for.”

Marik sat up and stared at the king before sighing and rubbing at his forehead.

“Okay, but what is he going to make you wish into reality for him?”

Yami barked a laugh.

“I don’t know, and frankly, I don’t care. If he thinks that after all this that I’m going to help him with any of it, he is insane.”

“And what if you have no choice?” Marik asked and Yami looked at him, eyeing his face and wishing that he couldn’t read it so well. What Marik was asking wasn’t so much about a lack of choice, but a forced one. Liam was keeping Ishizu and Marik for more than just directions. Their presence had made Yami tell the truth about the puzzle, and Yami knew himself too well to try to deny that he wouldn’t protect them again.

“Looks like we’re going to have to find a way to get you and Ishizu to safety before we get there.” He said and Marik smiled.

“There’s the king I remember,” he muttered and Yami rolled his eyes. “So, what’s the plan?”

“I have no idea!” Yami admitted and then looked up to the small windows that were showing the bright blue sky, “Though, I’m sure we can think of something.”

Marik laughed as he looked around the small cabin. 

“If only they’d left something in here for us to use,” Marik muttered.

“Oh! But they did!” Yami said, moving with a groan to grab the bag of medical supplies from behind Marik, at which he began digging in it. Marik watched with a raised eyebrow as Yami then pulled out a small syringe.

“How are you’re lock picking skills?” He asked and Marik laughed.

“Not too good, but I suppose practice makes perfect,” he muttered as he took the syringe and Yami’s wrist and began to maneuver it through the lock.

“By the way, despite all the injuries, how are you doing?” Marik asked after a few minutes of just metallic clicks.

Yami sighed.

“I don’t really know. In all honesty, I haven’t had much time to focus on that, but…” he then hesitated and looked at Marik, judging on how honest he should be, “It feels weird.”

“Weird?” Marik repeated, raising an eyebrow at the king before continuing with the locks.

“Yeah, I don’t know, it’s not a good word for it, but it’s as close as I can get. I guess… everything just doesn’t feel quite the same as it did before; either time.”

Marik nodded before sighing and pulling the needle form the lock.

“Well, you’ve got to hand it to Liam on picking a good pair of cuffs.” He muttered and smiled apologetically, “Sorry.”

Yami shrugged and leaned back.

“Always worth a shot.” He said and then pursed his lips, “How have things been?”

Marik leaned on the wall perpendicular to Yami’s and smiled.

“Good, I mean, nothing bad has happened, so I suppose good is the word for it. Ishizu, Odion and I have been working together on exhibits and excavation sites, keeping up with our families’ heritage and legacy, while trying to make up for the past. Yugi and Tea have come to visit us a few times, and vice versa. They started dating about two or so years after you left, and still are from what I know.”

“It’s about time,” Yami muttered and Marik laughed.

“Apparently that’s what Tea said right after he kissed her the first time.” Marik said and they both laughed. Yami then looked down at the chains about his wrists and sighed.

“This isn’t how I expected reuniting to go,” he muttered.

“I don’t think any of us really did,” Marik offered, “But like you said last night, it is good to see you.”

Yami smiled and then leaned his head back.

“Still, it really does feel weird to be back,” he muttered and Marik nodded.

“I bet. I mean, you thought everything was done and then this happens.”

“Well, it’s not really that,” Yami replied and then looked to see Marik with a questioning look and he sighed. “I don’t mind being back here. I really missed Yugi and everyone, and, well, being dead was kind of… boring. It’s just being back is hard.”

“Hard?” Marik repeated and Yami nodded.

“Yeah. You know that feeling when you’ve been inside a nice dark, cool room all day, and then suddenly you step outside into the sun and the heat and everything is too bright, and too hot, and too loud,” Yami said and Marik nodded. “It kind of feels like that only times a hundred.”

“How weird, though, I guess that would make sense in a way,” He muttered, “You were at peace, and this place… it certainly isn’t peaceful.”

“Yeah,” Yami muttered and then sighed and closed his eyes. Mariks question of what Liam could want him to wish into existence was really nagging at him.

“What was it Liam said last night?” Yami suddenly said, sitting up and opening his eyes. Marik stared at him with confusion.

“He said a lot of things last night,” he muttered and Yami moved to sit cross legged.

“No, when he was talking about me and the research he did. He said that he needed to make sure he was bringing back the right person because he only had one chance to do it.”

“Yeah, what about it?” Marik asked.

“What if… and this is a serious _what_ _if_ , but what if what Liam wants is for me to change the reality of someone being dead?” Yami asked and Marik blinked before mulling it over.

“That would take a lot of power, which makes sense for wanting the Millennium puzzle, but if it’s about bringing back the dead, why not just do what he did to you to whoever he wants back?” Marik asked and Yami pursed his lips.

“You have a point, but…” he muttered, “I just, I can’t think of anything that he would want for this. Then again, I can’t really think of anyone that Liam could possible want to bring back from the dead.”

Marik nodded and then paused.

“There were sacrifices involved in bringing you back from the dead, we saw the remains back in your tomb,” he muttered and watched a shadow pass over the Pharaoh’s face before he nodded.

“What about them?” he asked.

“Well, as shown, bringing people back from the dead isn’t without its consequences. And Liam doesn’t seem like the type of guy who just decides to bring someone like you back without having already tried it before. Maybe, in whatever capacity he tried the spell before, it caused him to lose someone close to him, someone he never intended to lose, and he has decided to use a different, less… _demanding_ magic to bring them back.”

“But the millennium items are some of the most demanding out there. Whatever wish you make upon solving the puzzle is what must be returned when it is no longer needed,” Yami insisted and Marik shrugged.

“Perhaps Liam doesn’t know that, or-” He stopped and looked at Yami as possible realization dawned on both of them.

“He does realize it and that’s why I’m here. Not just to ensure that it works, but to ensure that the first wish that must be returned is mine and not his.”

Marik nodded.

“What an ass!” Yami muttered, rubbing his hands over his face.

“Do you think we can stop it from happening?” Marik asked and Yami turned to look at him.

“I don’t know.” He answered and watched as the worry before to make permanent lines in the young man’s forehead.

* * * *

“About two more hours till we land,” Kaiba said as he came from the cockpit of the plane. Yugi nodded and returned to looking back out the window. He didn’t want to think about anything in those coming two hours, he just wanted to let his mind stay blank, because otherwise he knew he was going to spin himself into circles with all the worry.

If only everyone else felt that way.

“There is one thing that I don’t understand,” Joey said.

“And what’s that underdog?” Kaiba asked and Joey leveled him with a look.

“Why did this person bring the Pharaoh back from the dead anyway? I mean, what does that accomplish?”

“Suppose to would be easier to answer if we knew who he was,” Kaiba muttered and then turned to Yugi, “You sure you don’t know anything about this guy?”

Yugi shook his head.

“Nothing I’ve seen has given any hint to who he is,” Yugi muttered, “I know he’s about thirty or so years old, give or take a few years, blonde hair, fresh suit, and has a really good evil laugh, but that’s about it.”

Kaiba frowned.

“I just wish there was some way for you to learn more,” he muttered, “Unfortunately though your connection with Yami before was two way, this is more one way. It seems you’d need some sort of conduit to make a connection of your own.”

There was silence in the cabin that followed Kaiba’s comment.

“What? Like you guys are the only ones that look this stuff up?” he muttered and Yugi rolled his eyes.

“I honestly don’t think there’s any way for me to connect to him, or that he’s really even meaning to contact me. Every time it’s happened has been when he’s in trouble or being hurt,” Yugi muttered, “Hardly seems like a good time to be making psychic calls.”

“Or they’re the best time,” Tea responded.

Yugi raised an eyebrow at her.

“Well, what do most people do when they’re in trouble?” she asked.

“They call for help,” Duke answered, moving to lean against the back of Tea’s chair. “True, the way the Pharaoh’s contacting you is anything but ordinary, but it’s probably the only way he knew how to reach anyone.”

“But I don’t think he’s doing it on purpose,” Yugi muttered.

“More likely than not he’s doing unconsciously,” Mokuba added from where he sat, “If the connection you two have is there, his mind probably tapped into it because it was the only way to receive any help.”

“But I don’t see how that helps us now!” Yugi insisted, “If what Yami is doing is unintentional, then how can I use it _intentionally_ to help him?”

“I don’t think you can,” Kaiba said, standing and walking to the back of the plane, where he opened a small closet and pulled out a large hard back suit case and brought it back to the group where he laid it on the table. He glanced at Yugi with a look that seemed almost sheepish from Yugi’s perspective before taking a deep breath. “Remember how I said you would need some sort of conduit to connect with Yami?”

“Yeah,” Yugi muttered, “I assumed you were thinking of something like the millennium puzzle, but that’s impossible.”

Kaiba shook his head and began unzipping the sides of the case.

“Not impossible.” He said, “You see, I’m someone who likes to be prepared, and I don’t like when people have something over me. So, knowing where powerful items were, shortly after we returned home, I had a team go and excavate them from that cave.”

“You did what?!” Yugi demanded, standing as Kaiba pulled open the top, showing the contents. In foam padding sat several of the millennium items, namely the Millennium Rod, Ring, Scale, Key, Eye, and in a plastic box the pieces of the Puzzle. Yugi looked back at Kaiba. “This was really dangerous!”

“No more dangerous than leaving them for others to discover!” Kaiba insisted as he reached in and grabbed the box containing the pieces of the puzzle, “Not much good it did consider the fact that we never found the one used by Ishizu, but… we believe we have all the pieces of yours.”

Yugi looked at the box that Kaiba was offering him. The sight of the gold sparkling in the light from the sun through the windows sent a shiver down his spine, and he honestly couldn’t tell if it was from excitement or terror. The last time he had solved that puzzle it had given him the greatest friend of his life, but it had also brought more hardship and pain than he could have imagined.

“I wasn’t thinking something _like_ the millennium puzzle,” Kaiba said, drawing Yugi’s attention back to his face, “I was thinking the millennium puzzle itself.”

“Kaiba, there is no guarantee that Yugi could even solve the thing again!” Tea insisted and though Yugi couldn’t seem to get himself to look at her, he could hear the worry in her voice. In fact, the entire plane suddenly seemed very tense.

“He’s right,” Yugi said, stopping Kaiba from whatever he was going to say.

“Yugi, what if-”

“We’re all going to make ourselves dizzy with ‘what ifs’ Tea!” Yugi insisted as he took the box from Kaiba and sat back down. Kaiba removed the case from the table and placed it back in the closet, coming and resuming his previous seat. Yugi turned and looked at everyone before he continued. “We need to know what’s happening, otherwise there is no chance of saving anyone. This can help. I know it can.”

“But what if you can’t solve it Yug?” Joey asked, “Rich boy said he believed they’d found all the pieces, but what if some are missing?”

Yugi took a deep breath before letting it out.

“Then I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it, right now though…” he said and looked at everyone, “I need some space to work. The last time I solved this it took me a while.”

They all nodded despite the clear worry and fear on their faces and moved away to let him work. The only one who didn’t move from his seat was, surprisingly, Kaiba, who just simply pulled out his phone, put in his headphones and closed his eyes.

Yugi took one more deep breath and then pulled the lid from the box and began fiddling with the pieces. Some of it was easy and came back to him quickly. He knew this piece fit with that one, and that this odd shaped one needed more of the back side finished because it sat somewhere in the middle. He easily found the corner pieces and the loop that allowed a chain or rope to attach to it. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear the others talking, Mokuba made the comment of just an hour until their arrival. Yugi felt as though he was under a timetable, that he needed to solve it before they landed, and suddenly he’d wished Kaiba had brought this up when they had taken off, so he could have more time. He glanced up to Kaiba, who was still listening to music with his eyes closed and wondered why he hadn’t told him about searching for the items. He had a theory, one he’d had for a while, but had decided a long time ago not to say anything. He went back to the puzzle, inserting the pieces here and there, feeling the rush of relief when they did connect. Thirty more minutes until their arrival and he was almost done, a few more pieces to go. The others had stopped listening to his request to be left alone and though had remained where they were, had ceased their conversations and were all watching him as he fit each piece together.

“Looks like you did find all the pieces,” Yugi muttered as he pulled out the last piece. Kaiba pulled out his headphones and smiled slightly as his eyes danced between the gold in Yugi’s hand and Yugi’s face.

“I hope this works,” Tea said, taking the seat beside Yugi and placing her hand on his knee. He smiled at her and then leaned in to kiss her real quick before turning to the others.

“Now I don’t know how this will work let alone if it will, but-”

“We’re here for you Yugi!” Tristan said, “Just do it and we’ll work out the rest.” 

Yugi nodded and looked back at the puzzle, and with one final plea for it to work, he placed the last piece into place, where there was a slight click of the metal and a flash of light before everything went dark.


End file.
